April 13, 2006

Brazil's Paranagua port allows for GM soy shipment

Brazil's Paranagua port allowed for genetically modified soybeans to leave a private terminal owned by Bunge on Wednesday (Apr 12) after giving into a federal court's demand to permit GM soy exports.

Paranagua is one of Brazil's busiest soy shipping ports, located in the southern state of Parana. The port authority did not historically allow for GM soybean shipments because the port does not have the capacity to store the transgenic beans in separate silos, Parana state's Secretary of Agriculture said.

GM and traditional soybeans must be stored separately and labelled as genetically modified, per Brazil's national biosecurity laws.

The press office at Paranagua Port said that GM soy shipments were only being allowed out of the Bunge terminal, berth 206.

Permission was granted on Tuesday evening.

The Parana state government sought to remove a federal government order to permit soy shipments this year. The case went all the way to the Brazilian Supreme Court, which removed Parana's temporary ban on Apr 10.