May 5, 2010
NGO downplays EU feed import crisis
The disruption to animal feed imports caused by Europe''s "zero tolerance" policy on unapproved genetically modified (GM) products has been exaggerated by industry, according to the NGO Friends of the Earth.
Last summer, several shipments of soy from the US were blocked from entering Europe after authorities detected traces of unauthorised GM corn in the consignments, sparking fears of a feed shortage.
That led industry groups to warn that Europe''s food and livestock feed chain could lose EUR3.5-5 billion (US$4.66-US$6.66 billion) in just six months, which would force EU livestock farmers out of business and meat production overseas.
But in a report sent to EU politicians, Friends of the Earth (FoE) said the scale of the problem had been deliberately exaggerated by feed importers and biotech companies who want a change in the EU''s zero tolerance policy - a charge denied by industry members.
Citing official EU data on confirmed contamination cases, FoE said a maximum of 66,000 tonnes of soy and meal imports were rejected in 2009, equivalent to 0.2% of the 32 million tonnes of soy imported into Europe last year.
About 70% of the contamination cases originated from the US, which accounts for 15.8% of soy imports and 2.3% of soymeal imports to Europe, the report said. There were no incidents of GM contamination in shipments from Argentina and Brazil, the two largest soy exporters to Europe, the report added.
The European Commission ended last year''s supply disruptions by approving the GM corn varieties that had caused the problems, but in March it announced plans to propose a more lasting "technical solution" by the end of this year.
The Commission is expected to propose a tolerance margin of between 0.1% and 0.5% on unapproved GM products in feed and possibly food imports.
"The quantities of contaminated animal feed were so low that it cannot be argued that the EU''s zero tolerance policy caused significant disruption," the report said.
"Europe''s laws on GM foods are there for a reason - to protect the public and the environment. Our research shows that industry is trying to scare-monger politicians to change the law," added FoE agriculture campaigner Adrian Bebb.
But industries affected by the contamination cases said the EU data used by FoE hid the full scale of the crisis.
"What''s reported to the EU rapid alert system is only the result of official tests. The Spanish authorities said at the time that shipments of more than 200,000 tonnes were blocked by Spain alone," said Alex Doering of EU feed manufacturers'' association Fefac.
"Friends of the Earth are simply ignoring the actual impact on feed prices due to legal uncertainty, which is still there, and is something the market does assess when buying futures contracts to cover supplies in six to nine months time," he added.