Syngenta will Sell GM Corn not Approved by China
by swisscham in Engineering, Manufacturing
Syngenta AG, the world’s largest crop chemicals company, has commitments to sell its entire supply of a genetically modified corn variety that is not approved by China, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said on Friday. Vilsack said whether or not China eventually approves the corn, known as Agrisure Viptera or MIR 162, it was still being sold and that Syngenta has “basically have sold out” of its supply for the 2014 growing season. Chinese authorities have rejected some 600,000 tonnes of U.S. corn since November because they contained MIR 162, which has not been approved for use there. Two leading U.S. grain groups asked Syngenta last month to suspend the commercial use of Viptera and Duracade, a new strain of corn that the company plans to roll out this year, until the Chinese approvals are sorted out.