As new strains of genetically modified (GM) crops comprise a larger and larger portion of U.S. harvests, Gavilon is calling upon the U.S. agriculture industry to formulate a system for dealing with GM commodities banned by foreign markets. Last month, Gavilon, owned by Marubeni Corp. agreed to accept a strain of GM corn not yet approved for import by China or the EU called Agrisure Duracade which is produced by Syngenta. Other major grain handlers such as ADM, Cargill, and Michigan Agricultural Commodities have refused to ship the variety. Corn containing Duracade will be planted on 250,000 -300,000 acres this spring according to Syngenta and has already gained approval from Mexico, Japan, and South Korea. China has rejected consecutive shipments of U.S. corn containing another unapproved corn strain called Agrisure Viptera or MIR 162, also produced by Syngenta which has been waiting for approval from Beijing for over two years. Gavilon states that unless a system is put in place to manage the approval and marketing of new GM strains, the U.S. seed industry and corn farmers will be limited.
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