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American Corn Growers challenge logic of promoting transgenic crops in foreign markets (June 5, 2001 -- CropChoice news) -- The following comes from the American Corn Growers Association.
The American Corn
Growers Association (ACGA), watching foreign export
markets continue to fade away and seeing corn prices
paid to U.S. farmers continue to drop, is
questioning the wisdom of promoting biotechnology
(GMOs) to foreign customers.
"The ACGA believes an explanation is owed to the
thousands of American farmers who were told to
trust this technology, yet now see their prices
fall to historically low levels while other
countries exploit U.S. vulnerability and pick off
our export customers one by one," said Larry
Mitchell, Chief Executive Officer of the ACGA.
"An explanation is also owed our foreign customers
on why the United States isn't leading the effort
to promote and sell the type of commodities and
products they want and demand."
ACGA's Farmer Choice - Customer First program
continues to provide information to U.S. farmers
concerning the GMO-driven loss of export markets,
legal liability created by cross-pollination
contamination and the limitations inherent in
on-farm segregation. The program provides
objective information and encourages farmers to
make informed planting decisions about what seed
varieties to plant. The ACGA program urges farmers
to study the pros and cons of agricultural
biotechnology and its potential market impacts.
"Brazil's current marketing year corn exports have
risen to 1.7 million metric tons (67 million
bushels), which competes directly with U.S. corn
producers," said Dan McGuire, ACGA Program Director.
Meanwhile, just last week, a news report stated
that Cargill is breaking ground to set up a new
port terminal on the banks of the Tapajos river at
Sanatarem, Para state (Brazil) to be completed
within ten months, with a turnover of 120,000
metric tons per month. The Sanatarem facility is
expected to result in a freight savings of US $60
million on the 3 million metric ton volume of
soybeans to be transported to the facility from
northern Mato Grosso state via the BR 163 roadway.
Brazil is a Non-GMO soybean producer. The same
news report says that Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso
do Sul states produce 3.5 million metric tons of
soybeans, which should grow to 10 million metric
tons within five years as transportation problems
are tackled. Now Brazil is also a corn exporter,
competing directly with U.S. farmers.
"With this new export facility, we can expect Brazil
to expedite a soybean/corn crop rotation program
which will increase competition for U.S. farmers
over the long term," McGuire said.
More recent developments should also concern U.S.
farmers. The May 28, 2001 edition of Feedstuffs
reported that Australia's Industrial Supplies
Office "has identified the non-genetically modified
(non-GM) status of Australia as a possible
advantage over other soybean producers, such as the
U.S., which has more than half its soybean crop
sown to GM varieties." A May 21, 2001 news report
out of London stated that a delegation from India,
sponsored by the Soybean Processors Association of
India met trade officials in Italy, Spain, France,
Germany, The Netherlands and Britain to persuade
buyers that their soybean meal is non-GM, unlike
other producers. India has already carved a niche
for its non-GM soy products in Asia, with exports
from 2.5 to 3 million metric tons per year.
According to a May 18, 2001 news report from Quito,
Ecuador, the Ecuadorian government suspended a
United Nations-sponsored nutritional program that
provides food for poor children and mothers due to
the possibility that genetically engineered
soybeans were among some of the food products.
And, China continues to be an aggressive corn
exporter, also exploiting the U.S. vulnerability
in Japan and other large U.S. corn markets, that
results from GMOs in general and StarLink corn
specifically. "Even in the face of all these
negative market signals, it appears that some in
the U.S. are willing to promote biotechnology no
matter how negative the impact is on U.S. exports
and commodity prices. That arrogant strategy is
turning out to be a 'market development in reverse'
program," concluded McGuire.
URL to News & Views...
www.acga.org/news
Questions or Comments Please Contact:
Dan McGuire | |
