U.S. agribusiness giant Cargill Inc. said Thursday that it won't
accept Syngenta AG's (SYT) genetically modified Agrisure Viptera
corn at its North American wet milling plants until the corn
variety is approved by the European Union, Reuters reported.
Another major grain handler, St. Louis-based Bunge Ltd. (BG),
has already barred Agrisure Viptera from its facilities, awaiting
additional export market approval, particularly from China. A unit
of Switzerland's Syngenta sued Bunge on Aug. 22 over the
refusal.
Thursday, Reuters quoted a Cargill spokeswoman as saying:
"Cargill strongly values its right to accept or restrict products
of agricultural biotechnology, dependent on the approval status in
export markets and needs of our customers. Consistent with our
long-standing wet milling position, Cargill cannot accept Viptera
at these facilities until it has received regulatory approvals in
the EU."
Viptera, which has been bioengineered to protect against insect
damage, represents less than 2% of the U.S. corn crop, Syngenta
said. It has been approved for shipment to several major corn
export markets.
Syngenta said it has been in contact with U.S. ethanol plants to
identify "suitable outlets" for Viptera corn.
Full story at
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/01/cargill-corn-idUSN1E78017Q20110901
-Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2900