Companies Paying Premiums to US Farmers Growing Non-GE Crops

USA: CORN GROWERS SAY OPPORTUNITY LIES IN FULFILLING NON-GMO DEMAND
16 October, American Corn Growers Association
As Canadian inspectors begin checking U.S. corn at the border for
GMO-StarLink contamination and the European Union implements its
traceability program for genetically modified crops and products, processors
and exporters announce premiums for non-GMO corn and soybeans, the American
Corn Growers Association (ACGA) urges farmers to meet the demands of foreign
markets.

"The preferences of foreign buyers and the consumers they serve cannot be
ignored by U.S. farmers when they decide what crop varieties to plant,
unless they are willing to continue alienating importers and handing over
import markets to competitor exporting countries," says Dan McGuire,
director of the ACGA Farmer Choice-Customer First program. "Instead of
bemoaning the fact that the European Union is going to require traceability,
labeling and a 1 percent tolerance on GMOs, U.S. farm and commodity groups
should be encouraging and helping farmers meet the needs of foreign
customers."

Multinational processor and exporter Archer Daniels Midland recently
announced it would offer a 20-cent-per-bushel premium for non-GMO beans
delivered to its Decatur, Ill., processing plant and premiums in other
locations of 6-12 cents per bushel for proven non-GMO corn and 10 cents for
non-GMO soybeans. Other U.S. grain companies and exporters are also paying
premiums for non-GMO commodities.

"While some in the U.S. grain industry have apparently been operating under
the naïve notion that the European Union could be forced to cave in to U.S.
pressure and be told that they had to buy what some in the U.S. 'insist'
they buy, it's time to let go of that illusion and put grain buyer demands
well above biotech company, GMO seed and chemical sales agendas," added
McGuire.

According to ACGA the European Union continues to import about 2.5 million
metric tons (MMT) of corn annually, but not from the U.S., from our
competitors. The EU has steadily decreased its purchases of U.S. corn from
about 2.8 MMT in 1995/96 to the equivalent of only one hold of one ship
(6,300 MT) in the just-ended 2000/2001 marketing year. Japan reduced its
U.S. corn purchases last year by over 50 million bushels. The ACGA
estimates that the U.S. has foregone about 350 million bushels of corn
exports to those two markets combined since 1997/98, the year after GMO corn
was introduced in the U.S. Those lost sales result in higher ending corn
inventories here in the U.S., which results in lower farm-gate corn prices.
Brazil and China are aggressively capturing U.S. corn markets. Argentine
growers recently announced a move to implement identity preservation plans
to ensure the non-biotech integrity of Flint corn, guaranteeing customers a
non-biotech food product. Argentine Flint corn is already preferred by EU
buyers.

The U.S. can't afford to continue the arrogant approach that the EU has to
import what some in the U.S. tell them to. That strategy is absurd. "If
the U.S. has to expand its identity-preserved (IP) marketing system then
lets not pretend otherwise. The first blatant reality is that European
buyers and other import markets are already paying a premium for non-GMO
U.S. commodities.

One large grain company official recently observed, 'we can't afford not to
absorb the costs of IP'. And while importers in Europe, Japan and other
countries are already paying a premium to buy high quality, non-GMO
commodities, the fact is that biotech companies should also help absorb the
costs. Current U.S. farm policy guarantees grain buyers very low market
prices for the corn they buy from farmers at the first point of delivery.
Biotech companies have caused GMO marketing problems," concluded McGuire.