Washington, DC
April 4, 2007
The nation’s two leading trade
associations representing the grain, feed and grain processing
industries today joined in urging
Syngenta Seeds Inc. to
reconsider and reverse its plan to commercialize its Agrisure
RW™ biotechnology-enhanced corn seed for planting this year
because it has not obtained regulatory approval for food and
feed use in Japan and other U.S. export markets.
The National Grain and Feed
Association (NGFA) and North
American Export Grain Association (NAEGA) said that what
they termed Syngenta’s “ill-conceived” plan risks endangering
U.S. corn and corn product exports. Further, the NGFA and NAEGA
said, Syngenta’s action could set a dangerous precedent
concerning the future introduction of biotechnology-enhanced
traits before they are approved in countries, like Japan, that
have a fully functioning, science-based regulatory-approval
process for such products.
“We already are aware that Japanese buyers are developing
contingency plans to purchase corn and corn products from
non-U.S. origins if Syngenta releases this seed for planting and
Japanese government approval is not forthcoming prior to
harvest,” said NGFA President Kendell W. Keith and NAEGA
President and Chief Executive Officer Gary C. Martin. “Given the
painful lessons learned in the past, we urge Syngenta to join
with us in protecting the marketability of U.S. corn and corn
products by delaying the introduction of Agrisure RW corn seed
until it receives full regulatory approval in Japan and other
important U.S. corn export markets.”
Syngenta announced its intent to begin selling its new Agrisure
RW™ corn seed immediately after the March 16 decision by the
U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service to deregulate the product after finding no
adverse plant health or environmental concerns. The
biotechnology-enhanced trait, which contains modified protein
MIR604 to control corn rootworm insects, previously received
authorizations from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
“Given the U.S. government’s deregulation of Agrisure RW corn,
we have no reason to question its safety for food or feed,” said
the NGFA’s Keith and NAEGA’s Martin. “But we do have important
reasons for opposing its commercialization at this time because
of its marketability.”
The NGFA and NAEGA said they shared concerns raised by the
National Corn Growers Association, which has urged Syngenta not
to commercialize this biotech-enhanced corn seed this planting
season since the product has not gained full regulatory approval
in Japan. “As the corn growers’ organization has noted,” Keith
and Martin said, “doing otherwise risks endangering U.S. export
markets for corn and corn products.”
The two grain organizations noted that the Japan Feed Trade
Association, representing major buyers of U.S. corn, also has
urged Syngenta to delay introduction of Agrisure RW corn or any
other biotech-enhanced trait until full Japanese government
approval has been granted.
The NGFA, established in 1896, consists of 900 member companies
from all sectors of the grain, feed, processing and exporting
business that operate about 6,000 facilities nationwide and
handle more than 70 percent of all U.S. grains and oilseeds.
NAEGA, established in 1912, is comprised of private and publicly
owned companies and farmer-owned cooperatives that ship
virtually all of the bulk grains, oilseeds and their primary
derivative products exported each year from the United States.
The NGFA and NAEGA said it was misguided and naïve to believe
that Syngenta’s efforts to channel Agrisure RW corn away from
export markets would be 100 percent successful. “It’s impossible
to completely segregate this specific biotech variety from the
rest of the commodity stream because of pollen drift,
inadvertent commingling and human error,” Keith and Martin said.
“Yet, export markets will require ironclad guarantees if this
biotech trait is not approved overseas, since Japan and other
foreign governments impose a zero-tolerance policy on unapproved
biotech products.”
Further, NAEGA noted that Syngenta has failed to provide
commercial assurances that exporters would be compensated for
damages that may result if Agrisure RW corn is present in
commodity export shipments.
The NGFA and NAEGA also noted that the National Corn Growers
Association has warned growers that if Syngenta proceeds,
harvested corn containing the MIR604 protein will not be
eligible to be marketed under its “Market Choices™” label that
seeks to direct biotech traits away from corn product shipments
destined for Europe, and that there will be “serious
restrictions” on the marketability of such corn. The NGFA and
NAEGA said the same would be true for processed and co-products
from Agrisure RW corn, such as corn gluten and distillers dried
grains with solubles (DDGS), which also would not be able to be
marketed for export.
The NGFA and NAEGA also cited Syngenta’s “comprehensive grain
use/marketing commitment” agreement that it is requiring
producers to sign before obtaining Agrisure RW seed. Under the
agreement, producers pledge to deliver Agrisure RW corn only to
non-export locations and to sign a stewardship agreement
“confirming that they understand their obligations to market the
grain appropriately.”
The NAEGA and NGFA urged any grower signing such agreements with
Syngenta to be fully cognizant of potential legal liabilities
and market implications of subsequently delivering corn that may
test positive for the Agrisure RW trait in general market
channels used to supply commodity corn for export and other
generic uses. “The potential for extremely costly rejections at
export destinations is very real, and remains a threat to our
country’s ability to provide commodities that comply with
customer requirements,” Martin and Keith warned.
The NGFA’s membership encompasses all sectors of the industry,
including country, terminal and export elevators; feed
manufacturers; cash grain and feed merchants; end users of grain
and grain products, including processors, flour millers, and
livestock and poultry integrators; commodity futures brokers and
commission merchants; and allied industries. The NGFA also
consists of 35 affiliated state and regional grain and feed
associations, as well as two international affiliated
associations. The NGFA also has strategic alliances with the Pet
Food Institute and the Grain Elevator and Processing Society,
and has a joint operating and services agreement with NAEGA.
NAEGA member companies ship virtually all of the more than $25
billion in exports of U.S. bulk grains, oilseeds and products
derived therefrom. The Association’s mission is to promote and
sustain the development of commercial export of grain and
oilseed trade from the United States. |
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