China clears genetically-modified corn and soybeans from US for import

WASHINGTON - Following US-China trade talks in Chicago earlier this week, US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has confirmed that China’s Ministry of Agriculture has cleared imports for a number of biotech products: 1) A type of genetically-modified corn from Swiss seed developer Syngenta AG; and 2) biotech soybeans developed by DuPont Pioneer of the US and Germany’s Bayer CropScience AG.

In response to requests for further information, China’s Agriculture Ministry declined to comment.

The type of genetically-modified corn now cleared – referred to as Agrisure Viptera, or MIR 162 – has been at the centre of a number of lawsuits against Syngenta by US farmers, claiming the seedmaker misled the farm industry about the timeline for approval from China, the product’s major buyer.

Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences researcher, Ding Lixin, said that “official consent for the import of MIR 162 would be meaningful because US corn trading with China has essentially shut down since China started turning away cargoes containing the corn in November 2013. It was approved for planting in the US but not for sale in China.”

China is the US’s largest export market, as well as the largest international market for US food and agricultural products, accounting for 20% of all US farm exports.

Lifting of MIR 162 is a huge move for the Swiss company, which already needs to pay legal settlements to more than 100 US farmers and exporters. www.webershandwick.cn (ATI).