June 11, 2014
China stops imports of US DDGs
China has stopped issuing permits for imports of distillers dried grains (DDGs) fromthe United States over concerns that they might contain an unapproved genetically-modified organism (GMO), Reuters reports.
Quarantine authorities have also asked buyers to re-export earlier shipments that contained MIR 162, a GMO strain developed by Syngenta AG that has not been approved for import by China's agriculture ministry.
China is the world's largest buyer of DDGs, a protein-rich byproduct of corn-based ethanol that is used as livestock feed.
Bids for USexport barges of the byproduct fell about 10% on Monday to US$226 per tonne, the lowest since January, US traders said.
Analysts said authorities have required buyers to remove some 250,000 tonnes of US DDGs denied entry due to the presence of MIR 162.
Chinese importers have been reluctant to re-export those shipments partly because it is difficult to find overseas buyers.
China has also rejected in total since late last year more than one million tonnes of US corn due to the presence of MIR 162.
Expectation of falling imports have underpinned domestic China rapeseed meal prices, the most-active September 2014 contract rose 2.73% to more than a one-month high at US$490 per tonne.