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Washington, D.C.
February 27, 2008
South Korea has recently purchased
the country’s first shipment of biotech corn via optional origin
for the use of food purposes. As of today the Korean Corn
Processing Industry Association (KCPIA) has bought 697 thousand
metric tons (27.4 million bushels) of genetically modified (GM)
corn for April – August shipment at $318.23 - $337.33 per metric
ton, cost and freight. Most of the corn will be shipped from the
United States, according to the exporters and KCPIA officials.
“This is a significant step forward in terms of broadening
acceptance of GM crops for food use in Korea,” said
Byong Min, director of the U.S.
Grains Council’s Korea office. Min said the remarkably high
tonnage amount is
due to buyers anticipating a rise in corn prices. “Buyers
seriously considered using GM corn way before Korea
bought its first cargoes at the end of January,” Min said.
The sale is the result of a series of biotech conferences
sponsored by the Council during which representatives
from the Korean corn milling industry learned about the safety
of GM crops. “Since 2000 when a mandatory
biotech foods labeling law was established in Korea, we have
invited about 30 corn processing industry representatives to the
United States on various educational missions,” Min said. The
trips to the United States helped Korean industry
representatives become familiar with U.S. corn production,
handling, marketing and export systems with special reference to
farmers’ preference for biotech corn.
So far, Korea has bought a total of 6,525 thousand metric tons
(257 million bushels) of corn for 2008 delivery,
of which 56 percent comes from the United States. About 42
percent of the total is from optional origins with
two percent arriving from India and China. According to
suppliers and buying groups, most of the corn cargoes
bought from optional origin will be delivered from the United
States who will likely enjoy over a 90 percent
market share in Korea’s corn import market for 2008.
The U.S. Grains Council is a private, non-profit partnership
of farmers and agribusinesses committed to building and
expanding international markets for U.S. barley, corn, grain
sorghum and their products. The Council is headquartered in
Washington, D.C., and has nine international offices that
oversee programs in more than 50 countries. Financial support
from our private industry members, including state checkoffs,
agribusinesses, state entities and others, triggers federal
matching funds from the USDA resulting in a combined program
value of more than $26 million. |
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