Country News
China: China has affirmed that it will be continue to reject corn shipments containing the GM MIR 162 strain, according to Bloomberg News. MIR 162 has still not received a definitive safety certification from the Chinese government. 12 cargoes of U.S. corn containing MIR 162 totaling some 545,000 MT were rejected on December 19. This rejection comes at a time when China has placed a record order for 5.9 MMT of corn for importation this year.
Ghana: The government of Ghana has announced its intent to adopt GM technology to improve the country’s agricultural production, according to WPI. While the government has yet to map out how exactly it wishes to achive this goal, a government minister has been quoted as saying that senior staff changes will be required in order for the country to have a more scientific approach to advances in agricultural technology.
Kenya: The Kenyan government has announced that a new strain of corn seed that is resistant to maize lethal necrosis will be available to farmers in 2014, according to WPI. This seed is currently being grown by Kenyan farmers under a government contract and should be available for distribution by the start of the next growing season. However, some experts are concerned that the new strain will not be as effective against the disease in real world conditions as it has been in laboratory tests.
South Africa: Corn prices for march delivery in Africa’s largest producer climbed again this week, reports Bloomberg News. Yellow corn is now $249.39/MT, while white corn stands at $257.45/MT.