Agrisure gets Japan’s import approval

GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. – Syngenta received full regulatory approval in Japan Aug. 23 for Agrisure RW, its corn rootworm insect control corn seed.
Agrisure RW now has full approval in the United States, Canada, and Japan, and import approval in Australia and New Zealand. Approval is still pending in the European Union.
No exports in ’07. In this introductory year, Agrisure RW growers participated in a comprehensive stewardship program to ensure their grain would remain in domestic markets.
With this approval, Agrisure RW grain can now be accepted by elevators exporting grain to Japan. However, Syngenta is committed to and will continue to implement the grain stewardship program with growers through the end of 2007.
Agrisure traits are available in varieties from Garst, Golden Harvest, NK, and more than 150 other seed brands.
Major market. “One of the real wins in this [announcement] is that U.S. corn can continue to flow freely to our major export market, and there will be no new testing procedures for our markets or our growers,” said National Corn Growers Association President Ken McCauley.
Japan is the United States’ largest corn importer, importing 14.6 million metric tons (574.6 million bushels) of U.S. corn so far this market year, as of Aug. 23.
Ohio Corn Growers Association President Mark Drewes reminds growers to keep informed about the export status of all their crops.
The National Corn Growers Association “Know Before You Grow Program” includes information on the regulatory status of corn from more than 70 seed companies. A complete listing of biotech seed products that have food and feed approval in the U.S. and other countries is online at ncga.org.
“We need to take every precaution to make sure our products are sold to the appropriate markets,” said Drewes. “That means growers should contact their buyers to ensure they are accepting grain from Agrisure RW hybrids.”