Effective June 6th, China’s quarantine agency has suspended permits for the importation of U.S. dried distillers’ grains (DDGS) because the Chinese government has labeled them as high risk for containing a strain of genetically modified corn (MIR162) that has not been approved by government officials as of yet. DDGS are a by-product of the process of corn being stripped of starch for ethanol production and are widely used in feed for livestock. China is the largest buyers of the by-product, buying a record 613,678 tons in April and 34% of U.S. DDGS exports last year – more than twice the share of second-ranked Mexico. Approximately 600,000 tons of DDGS that tested positive for MIR162 are being held at ports and may be returned to the U.S.
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