China’s strict stand over the importation of certain strains of genetically modified corn is halting the trade of the U.S.’s biggest crop to its fastest growing market. One industry estimate states that U.S. exports are down by 85% compared to last year. Rejected U.S. shipments of corn now equal 1.45 million metric tons – far more than the 545,000 metric tons that Beijing has reported. The rejected shipments have cost U.S. grain companies $427 million from lost sales according to the National Grain and Feed Association and the Association goes on to state that U.S. shipments of corn to China have fallen to 171,000 tons since January – an 85% drop compared to the same period a year earlier. Now seed companies and traders are debating over who should be responsible for the cost of these rejected shipments. Some in the U.S. are claiming that the rejection of the shipments is competitively motivated after some Chinese officials voiced concerns over China’s over-reliance on U.S. corn which accounted for over 90% of the country’s imports, and go on to say that if China did not have a bumper corn crop last year, these rejections would not be occurring.
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