Asia's sensitivity over GMO worries U.S. soy trade<\/p>\n
KOTA KINABALU, Malaysia (Reuters): The growing sensitivity of
\nsome Asian nations towards gene-altered soybeans and China's new
\ngenetically modified organisms (GMO) rules are increasingly
\ncausing concern among the U.S. soy trade, an American Soybean
\nAssociation (ASA) official said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
U.S. farm trade, just recovering from last year's controversy
\nsurrounding its gene-spliced StarLink corn, is working hard to
\nensure that Asian buyers get exactly what they want -- GMO or
\nnon-GMO products, said Corwin Fee, vice president and chairman of
\nASA's international marketing committee.<\/p>\n
\"On the issue of Roundup Ready soybeans, we are definitely
\nconcerned,\" Fee told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of
\na Southeast Asia Soy Buyers Conference.<\/p>\n
\"We are willing to work with them (Asian buyers) even though
\nthey have been approved for food. But once again, if it is still
\na customer preference not to involve them, there has to be a way
\nof communication and a way to rectify the problem,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Last month, Belgian scientists discovered gene fragments in
\nRoundup Ready soybeans, grown from seed developed by
\nbiotechnology giant Monsanto Co. The soybeans are spliced with a
\nbacterium to make them resistant to Roundup herbicide.<\/p>\n
Although the European Commission has said it had no scientific
\nevidence that these beans - which environmental group Greenpeace
\nwants banned - posed a health risk, some Asian buyers are not
\ncompletely convinced.<\/p>\n
\"South Korea has picked up a lot of concerns banished by the
\nEU but we are willing to address that,\" Fee said.<\/p>\n
He said currently the demand for non-GMO soybeans in Asia was
\nmore than GMO beans, which echoed views of some South Korean
\nbuying groups who have said they would be stepping up non-GMO
\nbean purchases this year.<\/p>\n
Fee added that the latest set of rules announced by China on
\nGMO had bogged down U.S. soybean sales to China to some extent.<\/p>\n
\"We are a little concerned about the regulations and laws that
\nhave been passed by China -- that no one seems to have a clear
\nunderstanding of,\" Fee said. \"But we are working with them to get
\na better understanding of what exactly they want.\"<\/p>\n
China was on a soybean buying spree in the first half of 2001,
\nwhen imports rose 69.2 percent year-on-year to 5.97 million tons.
\nNearly three-quarters of it came from the United States.
\nChina, U.S.'s biggest soybean buyer, announced the rules in early
\nJune but the rules fell short of implementation details which
\ntraders say are not expected until after October.<\/p>\n
Asian trade sources say China has stepped up buying soybeans
\nfrom South America recently.<\/p>\n
\"There a little bit of hesitancy, until we have a clear
\nunderstanding of what exactly they (China) expect, before we send
\nvast volumes of soybeans there,\" Fee said.<\/p>\n
According to U.S. Department of Agriculture, 68 percent of
\nU.S. soybeans are genetically modified. Trade sources say about
\n90 percent of Argentine soybeans are genetically modified. Brazil
\nhas said its soybeans are GMO-free, but trade sources believe GMO
\nsoy has been planted in southern Brazilian states.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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