Asia's sensitivity over GMO worries U.S. soy trade

Asia's sensitivity over GMO worries U.S. soy trade

KOTA KINABALU, Malaysia (Reuters): The growing sensitivity of
some Asian nations towards gene-altered soybeans and China's new
genetically modified organisms (GMO) rules are increasingly
causing concern among the U.S. soy trade, an American Soybean
Association (ASA) official said on Tuesday.

U.S. farm trade, just recovering from last year's controversy
surrounding its gene-spliced StarLink corn, is working hard to
ensure that Asian buyers get exactly what they want -- GMO or
non-GMO products, said Corwin Fee, vice president and chairman of
ASA's international marketing committee.

"On the issue of Roundup Ready soybeans, we are definitely
concerned," Fee told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of
a Southeast Asia Soy Buyers Conference.

"We are willing to work with them (Asian buyers) even though
they have been approved for food. But once again, if it is still
a customer preference not to involve them, there has to be a way
of communication and a way to rectify the problem," he added.

Last month, Belgian scientists discovered gene fragments in
Roundup Ready soybeans, grown from seed developed by
biotechnology giant Monsanto Co. The soybeans are spliced with a
bacterium to make them resistant to Roundup herbicide.

Although the European Commission has said it had no scientific
evidence that these beans - which environmental group Greenpeace
wants banned - posed a health risk, some Asian buyers are not
completely convinced.

"South Korea has picked up a lot of concerns banished by the
EU but we are willing to address that," Fee said.

He said currently the demand for non-GMO soybeans in Asia was
more than GMO beans, which echoed views of some South Korean
buying groups who have said they would be stepping up non-GMO
bean purchases this year.

Fee added that the latest set of rules announced by China on
GMO had bogged down U.S. soybean sales to China to some extent.

"We are a little concerned about the regulations and laws that
have been passed by China -- that no one seems to have a clear
understanding of," Fee said. "But we are working with them to get
a better understanding of what exactly they want."

China was on a soybean buying spree in the first half of 2001,
when imports rose 69.2 percent year-on-year to 5.97 million tons.
Nearly three-quarters of it came from the United States.
China, U.S.'s biggest soybean buyer, announced the rules in early
June but the rules fell short of implementation details which
traders say are not expected until after October.

Asian trade sources say China has stepped up buying soybeans
from South America recently.

"There a little bit of hesitancy, until we have a clear
understanding of what exactly they (China) expect, before we send
vast volumes of soybeans there," Fee said.

According to U.S. Department of Agriculture, 68 percent of
U.S. soybeans are genetically modified. Trade sources say about
90 percent of Argentine soybeans are genetically modified. Brazil
has said its soybeans are GMO-free, but trade sources believe GMO
soy has been planted in southern Brazilian states.