Cargill’s grain export facilities in Reserve and Westwego, Louisiana, loaded the vessels that were destined for and rejected by China.
“Unlike other seed companies, Syngenta has not practiced responsible stewardship by broadly commercialising a new product before receiving approval from a key export market like China,” said Mark Stonacek, president of Cargill Grain & Oilseed Supply Chain North America. “Syngenta also put the ability of US agriculture to serve global markets at risk, costing both Cargill and the entire US agricultural industry significant damages.”
Since mid-November 2013, China has rejected imports of US corn due to the presence of Syngenta’s MIR162 trait because of its lack of approval for import, virtually halting US corn trade with China.
A study by the National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA) estimated that US exporters and farmers lost up to $2.9bn because of the uncertain trade environment.
Stonacek added that filing the lawsuit came only after talks with Syngenta proved unproductive.
“This issue is important to US agriculture,” he said. “Marketing MIR 162 before receiving approval from China closed off that significant export market to US farmers and exporters. Cargill believes that Syngenta continues to not accept its role in shared responsibility by moving ahead this year with the commercialisation of Duracade, which also is not approved in China and other key export markets.”
Syngenta believes Cargill’s lawsuit is without merit and strongly upholds the right of growers to have access to approved, new technologies that can increase their productivity and their profitability.
A statement said:
The Agrisure Viptera trait (MIR 162) was approved for cultivation in the US in 2010. Syngenta commercialised the trait in full compliance with regulatory and legal requirements. Syngenta also obtained import approval from major corn importing countries. Syngenta has been fully transparent in commercialising the trait over the last four years. During this time Agrisure Viptera has demonstrated major benefits for growers, preventing significant yield and grain quality losses resulting from damage by a broad spectrum of lepidopteran pests.
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