Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack relayed word of Chinese approval Syngenta’s MIR 162 corn variety, which has roiled corn sales for months and prompted dozens of lawsuits, says the Financial Times. “The decision to allow sales of corn containing the genetically modified Agrisure Viptera trait developed by the Swiss-based crop chemical group could reopen a promising market for US farmers,” said the newspaper. China rejected more than 1 million tonnes of U.S. corn on grounds it contained MIR 162, which was still approved by USDA but not by Beijing.
U.S. officials have urged China to act more promptly on its review of GE crops. The chief U.S. agricultural negotiator Darci Vetter said last week that China does not begin consideration of a GE strain until it has been approved elsewhere.
“Because China typically approves genetically modified seeds about two years after the US — the world’s biggest grain exporter — it leaves the risk that other unapproved crops will leak into the world market before they are approved,” said the Financial Times. It quoted a U.S. farm group as saying the over-arching issue has not been resolved.
In a statement at a session on mutual goals in food and agriculture, Vilsack said, “One area where I think we can further our collaboration is in the creation of the right institutional framework to encourage an enabling environment for agricultural innovation.”