April 24, 2012

 

GM rapeseed crop's price down

 

 

As the European market shuts the gate on GM crops, global grain buyers are marking down the price of Australia's genetically modified rapeseed.

 

The Australian Wheat Board is offering to buy up supplies of GM rapeseed at guaranteed prices.

 

Global agribusiness giant Monsanto -- which produces "Round-up Ready" rapeseed, genetically modified to survive sprayings by its trademarked weed killer -- has told GM rapeseed farmers they will lose no more than US$10 a tonne for product delivered to agricultural company Cargill's crush facility at Newcastle by June 29.

 

"AWB would like to offer you some certainty when marketing your Roundup Ready rapeseed crop by offering you the opportunity to fix the varietal price spread between the price of Roundup Ready rapeseed and non-GM rapeseed," the head of Monsanto's Australian operations, Daniel Kruithoff, says in a letter to farmers.

 

"AWB will guarantee that the varietal grade spread of Roundup Ready rapeseed is no more than US$10 a tonne discount to non-GM rapeseed."

 

Global agribusiness Viterra is paying a US$45 a tonne premium for standard rapeseed in Western Australia - 8% more than for the GM herbicide-resistant rapeseed, which was introduced to Australia eight years ago.

 

The nation's biggest co-operative -- WA grain growers' giant CBH Group -- is paying US$40-45 a tonne less for GM rapeseed, a 6% markdown.

 

CBH Grains protein and oilseeds marketing manager Peter Elliott said yesterday Europe wanted to buy Australian rapeseed, but would not accept GM product.

 

"Europe doesn't have enough feedstock, which increases the demand for Australian rapeseed," Elliott said. "But in Europe, GM is not acceptable."

 

Glycerol, a by-product of bio-fuel production from rapeseed, is used in cosmetics. "All the major cosmetics companies have non-GMO policies," Elliott said. "The upshot is that Australia is one of the few places with large non-GM rapeseed production, so there's a big premium paid for non-GM into Europe."

 

Gene Ethics director Bob Phelps said yesterday the economics of GM rapeseed did not add up. Japanese buying co-operatives had expressed alarm about the potential contamination of Australian rapeseed supplies by GM rapeseed, he said.

 

State laws permit GM rapeseed to be grown in Western Australia, Victoria, NSW and Queensland, but not in South Australia, Tasmania, the ACT and the Northern Territory. About 10% of WA's rapeseed crop is now genetically modified.

 

Bayer CropScience received approval in December from the federal government's Office of the Gene Technology Regulator for the commercial release of rapeseed genetically modified to resist two types of herbicide.

 

Rapeseed Breeders WA -- which promotes hybrid rapeseed breeding -- is offering to give away bags of Roundup Ready rapeseed seeds for free in a buy three, get one free offer to farmers.

 

West Australian farmer Steve Marsh is suing a neighbour over the alleged contamination of his field with GM rapeseed, which resulted in the loss of his organic accreditation in 2010.