ASA waits expectantly on resumption of soy imports to EU

The American Soybean Association (ASA) announced on Nov. 30 that the association expects soy exports to the European Union (E.U.) to resume after the European Commission (E.C.) voted to approve Syngenta Agrisure-MIR604 biotech-enhanced corn.

ASA said soy trade should resume after traces of this and other corn events (which were approved in October by the E.C.) were found in U.S. soybean meal shipments earlier this summer. The association said it welcomed the E.C. action, but an intermediate and long-term fix to the E.U.'s zero-tolerance policy, and slow approval process is still needed. The E.U. is the fourth largest export market for U.S. soybeans, representing sales of more than $1 billion in 2007.

ASA said it has urged the E.C. to find a workable and commercially viable solution to the E.U. zero tolerance for the low-level presence of E.U.-unapproved biotech events.

The association said that European feed and livestock industries shared the ASA's view that a partial practical solution to this issue is for the E.U. to permit the low level presence of a biotech trait that has undergone regulatory review and received safety clearances in the country of export.

ASA said the other part of the solution is for the E.U. to greatly improve the timeliness of its approval system and ensure that its approval process is wholly science-based.