September 6, 2013
US wheat shipment to Asian countries resumes to normal levels
Despite an on-going investigation by the USDA into the origin of an unauthorised release of biotech wheat in Oregon, US wheat exports to Asian countries are proceeding smoothly.
The long-term effects of the release on the commercialisation of biotech wheat remain unknown, an industry group says.
Shipments of wheat to Japan and South Korea are at normal levels after resuming roughly a month ago, according to an industry association.
The two countries halted exports in late May after an unauthorised release of biotech wheat was discovered in Oregon.
Investigators from USDA still haven''t disclosed how the restricted crop may have ended up the field, but the genetically-engineered trait hasn''t been detected in any shipments of wheat, said Steve Mercer, vice president of communications for US Wheat Associates.
"The longer the testing happens and we have no indication of a problem, it is good news for the market," Mercer said. "I don''t think I would characterise it as blown over. It is part of what we do now."
Officials in Japan and South Korea- major destinations for Northwest soft white wheat- have been running genetic tests on incoming wheat shipments to test for the glyphosate-resistant trait, developed by the Monsanto Co.
The USDA''s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), which regulates biotech crops, hasn''t laid out how long its investigation into the unauthorised release might take, Mercer said.
The only frame of reference is a similar investigation into an unauthorised release of genetically-engineered rice in 2006, which concluded after roughly a year but did not identify how the escape occurred, he said.
The Monsanto Co. has said that it tested tens of thousands of wheat samples from the Northwest and not detected the biotech trait in any of them. The company has also raised the possibility that opponents of genetic engineering purposefully sowed biotech seeds in the Oregon field to create a market disruption.
Despite the uncertainty, there hasn''t seemed to be any negative consumer reaction in Japan and South Korea since exports resumed, said Mercer.
The Centre for Food Safety, a non-profit group that has litigated against USDA over biotechnology, wants the agency to strengthen its oversight of restricted genetically engineered crops.
"Given the laxity of the field trial system, it''s difficult to trace these episodes back," said Bill Freese, science policy analyst for the group.
Under USDA rules for field trials, biotech developers are responsible for setting and following their own protocols for preventing an unauthorised release.
While the agency should be strengthening its oversight after the biotech wheat release, APHIS has a backlog of investigations that is preventing it from examining cases thoroughly, Freese said.
The episode has likely been a setback for commercialising biotech wheat, as it highlights how opposed foreign markets are to the crop, he said. "People don''t want genetically engineered wheat and many farmers don''t either."