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Asia might not be ready for biotech wheat
(Thursday, June 26, 2003 -- CropChoice news) --Reuters: PHUKET, Thailand - U.S. industry officials were cited as warning on Thursday
that many Asian nations are not yet ready to accept biotech wheat, and that
any move to push it aggressively could help Australia snatch some key U.S.
customers like Japan.
Kurt Haarmann, merchant at Columbia Grain International Inc, a leading U.S.
exporter, was quoted as saying on the sidelines of an Asia wheat conference
that, "Just because we forced other things like biotech corn and soybeans,
we are getting this backlash in Europe. That, I think, has set our market
back by five years, not forward. I hope that biotech companies have learnt a
lesson from that. We as exporters were probably a little negligent in not
policing that better and not worrying more about what our customers thought
about the products."
Alan Tracy, president of the U.S. Wheat Associates, was quoted as telling
Reuters that, "Customer acceptance is a serious issue in Asia. Japan is
really the key and it's an area from where some of the greatest concerns
have been expressed."
U.S. wheat trade officials added that Australia would be strongly eyeing the
Japanese market and a lot of discussion was needed with Japanese authorities
to keep the market intact. | |
