Biotech Corn Hurting U.S. Exports

November 17, 2000

By PHILIP BRASHER

AP Farm Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) via NewsEdge Corporation -

The government is reporting a steady drop in exports of
corn, evidence that the mishandling of genetically
engineered grain on Midwest farms is starting to damage
U.S. markets overseas.

The Agriculture Department on Thursday reported net
sales of 517,700 metric tons for the week that ended Nov.
9, about half the weekly rate in October. Japan, by far the
biggest U.S. customer, purchased less than 150,000 tons
during the week, less than half its normal amount.

``This is a big drop-off and it is a concern to us and to
anyone who wants high prices for corn,'' said Chris
Schaffer, manager of international operations for the U.S.
Grains Council.

A variety of biotech corn not approved for food use
prompted nationwide recalls of taco shells in September
and October. The corn also was discovered in snacks and
animal feed in Japan. The Agriculture Department
subsequently reached agreement with Japan for screening
U.S. corn shipments.

Purchasers in South Korea, another major U.S. market,
have expressed concerns, too, about the biotech corn
known as StarLink.

When the Korean corn processors association earlier this
week solicited bids for corn, the United States was omitted
from the list of eligible sellers. The Korean government
has issued a recall for U.S.-made tortillas, although the
manufacturer says there was no corn in the product.

Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman acknowledged that
StarLink is probably a cause of the export drop. ``That's
why we're working to get StarLink out of the inventory,'' he
said.

On Wednesday, his department offered to start testing
corn for StarLink at the request of elevators and other
grain handlers. A fee will be charged for the service.

Federal regulators say there is little, if any, health risk for
the corn, but it was never approved for human
consumption because of unresolved questions about its
potential to cause allergic reactions.

The discovery of the corn in the U.S. food supply has so
snarled grain traffic in the United States that the
Environmental Protection Agency is considering a request
by the corn's developer, Aventis CropScience, to
temporarily approve it for food use.

No decision by the agency is expected before December.

Corn prices had been dropping for a week on the Chicago
Board of Trade and fell again Thursday morning when the
export report was released. Prices rose later in the day as
investors concluded the outlook was not bad enough to
keep pushing the market down.

``There definitely is a StarLink concern,'' said Jason
Roose, an analyst for U.S. Commodities Inc., West Des
Moines, Iowa. But he said the corn exports should turn
around as foreign customers gain confidence that U.S. is
being properly screened for the biotech grain.

^___=

On the Net: USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service:
http://www.fas.usda.gov

Aventis StarLink site: http://www.starlinkcorn.com

U.S. Grains Council: http://www.grains.org