Japan's Agriculture Ministry has asked importers of US corn to obtain certificates stating cargoes do not contain Bt-10 biotech corn to ensure supplies tainted with the illegal strain are not shipped to Japan. A ministry official said on Friday unless importers submit certificates to the ministry before their cargoes reach Japan, the ministry would test every US corn shipment upon arrival for traces of Bt-10and block imports if they test positive.
If importers submit certificates stating cargoes are free of Bt-10, the ministry will not apply the blanket testing policy to them. Instead the ministry will conduct random checks on their cargoes to ensure tests are done appropriately, he said.
The directions came after Japan last week found two US corn cargoes were contaminated with Bt-10, a genetically modified (GMO) corn strain that is made by Swiss agrochemical group Syngenta AG but not approved for distribution.
Japan's rules on GMO would force the country's importers to destroy US corn cargoes or ship them back to the United States if the government finds them contaminated with the unapproved GMO corn strain, which could result in millions of dollars in losses.
"We expect US corn buyers and shippers will cooperage in arranging tests on shipments bound for Japan," the ministry official said, adding that certificates would be issued by US laboratory Gene Scan, which has a detection method for Bt-10.
Japanese importers said on Friday they had asked Syngenta to pay for Bt-10 tests to take responsibility for contamination. If Syngenta refuses to pay, Japanese buyers would have to shoulder costs for testing, which could lead to a shift in Japanese interest from US corn to other origins, traders said.
"If we are asked to pay more for US corn, we may have to seek cheaper supplies from other countries," said an official at a major Japanese trading house, citing China and Argentina as alternative supply sources.