On July 21, China COFCO Corporation (hereinafter referred to as COFCO) imported more than 60,000 tons of genetically modified corn from the United States.
Yesterday (July 28), it was reported that the GM corn delivered this time did not meet the quality standards. In response, COFCO responded to the reporter of the "Daily Economic News" that the product is still being tested and there are no results.
Corn is accused of mildew
The reporter learned from the Shenzhen Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau that COFCO had ordered the first batch of US GM maize shipments in May this year due to concerns about drought and non-seasonal cold temperatures in the main planting areas in the northeast. On July 21st, it arrived at Shenzhen Shekou Merchants Port Terminal, with a scale of 61,000 tons, which is close to the amount of imported corn in China in June.
According to reports, analysts from the National Grain and Oils Information Center said on Tuesday (July 27) that the quality of genetically modified corn delivered by the United States this month has caused doubts in China and said that the standards for moldy cargoes have been higher than contractual requirements. The problem is that China is currently implementing stricter corn quality inspection standards.
In addition, the sources pointed out that analysts from ABN AMRO said in a report to customers on Monday that the first batch of cargo arrived in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province on July 21st, but the quarantine staff found that more than 10% of the corn had been damaged.
Feng Lichen, chief analyst of China CornNet, said that excessive water content means imported corn has become moldy, and 10% of this figure may be high. If there is 3% to 4% mold in one shipment, the entire shipment cannot be used. This is stipulated in the contract.
"Daily Economic News" reporter according to China's General Administration of Customs released the corn import data in June showed: June imported 61,200 tons from the United States, the total amount of imports was 14.8255 million US dollars, the statistics found that the average price of corn imported from the United States in June It is US$241.08/t. Based on the initial calculations, COFCO imported 61,000 tons of corn worth USD 14.4468 million and contracted RMB 98.06 million.
It takes time to publish the test results
The reporter noted that COFCO's response to the current "current product is in the process of inspection, there is no result" is somewhat different from the previous statement given to this newspaper.
On July 28th, the reporter called the Shenzhen Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau. The relevant person in charge stated that the GM maize imported by the COFCO was being tested. Due to concerns about genetically modified corn carrying pests and diseases and affecting domestic agriculture, the inspection and quarantine procedures for genetically modified corn are very complicated and Due to the meticulousness, it takes a long time to carry out inspections. "The test results will take a while to know."
As early as July 23, when the reporter contacted the COFCO Group about the import of genetically modified corn, the COFCO told reporters that the import of genetically modified corn is a unified arrangement of the competent national authorities, and corn will be used for feed production. Quarantine inspection, in line with national standards. Why did you say that it meets the national standards and is still being tested?
COFCO explained that on July 23, it was stated that compliance with national standards was in line with national standards for imported corn varieties. What this statement says is testing is the product quality.