US corn exports to Japan hit hard by StarLink
Date: 31-Aug-01
Country: JAPAN
Author: Jae Hur
Japan imported 8,385,776 tonnes of corn from the United States in the first seven months of this year, down nearly eight percent from 9,111,987 tonnes in the same period last year, Finance Ministry data showed yesterday.
While U.S. corn sales to Japan declined, the country's total corn imports rose slightly to 9,463,108 tonnes from 9,380,519 tonnes a year earlier.
The discovery last October of traces of genetically modified (GM) StarLink corn in domestic food and animal feed made from U.S. corn prompted Japan to cut U.S. purchases sharply, with importers scrambling to find other sources of supply.
StarLink, made by Franco-German pharmaceutical group Aventis SA , is not approved in Japan even for animal feed.
With the start of stricter GM rules from April, Japan set zero tolerance for imports containing unapproved GM products and mandatory labelling for imports containing approved GM products.
Japan's buying of U.S. corn was expected to return to normal late this year on hope the new U.S. crop will not be contaminated with StarLink, traders have said.
The U.S. corn crop to be harvested this year is basically free from StarLink because U.S. farmers were prohibited from planting the variety after it turned up in U.S. food.
RIVALS CASH IN
During the seven month period, South Africa benefited most with corn sales totalling 381,887 tonnes, up from zero a year earlier, followed by China, Argentina and Brazil.
China's maize exports to Japan jumped to 268,732 tonnes from 60,694 tonnes, and Argentina's exports rose to 256,744 tonnes from 198,287, the figures showed.
Japan's imports from other countries soared to 169,969 tonnes from 9,551 tonnes. Brazil exported some 150,000 tonnes in the first seven months of this year, Japan's first purchase of Brazilian corn in more than a decade, traders said.
Japan was expected to buy as much as 200,000 tonnes of corn from Brazil this year.
Brazil has become a net corn exporter for the first time since 1982 on higher output.
StarLink was developed by Aventis to fight a destructive pest known as the European corn borer. The firm maintains the corn has undergone years of rigorous testing and poses no health risks.
In the United States, StarLink was approved for animal feed but not for human consumption because of concerns about the potential for allergic reactions. It was found in taco shells last September, leading to an eventual recall of more than 300 food products.