By KEVIN WALKER
Michigan Correspondent

SIOUX CITY, Iowa — Syngenta has sued a major grain handler, Bunge North America, over its refusal to accept corn grown with the Agrisure Viptera trait.
According to statements from Bunge, the company is afraid the corn will be mixed with grain that’s headed to China, and China hasn’t yet approved this variety.

“We are taking this action to remove the illegal impediment Bunge imposed on growers when they announced mid-season that they would not accept grain enhanced by the Agrisure Viptera trait,” said David Morgan, president of Syngenta Seeds, Inc. “When a product has been legally approved, growers should be able to use that technology without subsequently being subjected to arbitrary actions.

“Our first priority is growers. Growers inherently face a myriad of risks, and Bunge’s decision to change grain specifications when farmers had already planted their corn is unacceptable. We are working with farmers who are impacted by this decision to help them find alternatives for delivering their grain.”

Bunge North America, which has its main location in St. Louis, Mo., refuses to back down. It reacted to the lawsuit by stating it has to wait until China approves the corn variety in question before it can accept the grain. According to statements issued by both Syngenta and Bunge, that will probably happen sometime next year.

“Until this approval occurs, we must protect the integrity of our export supply chain by not accepting Agrisure Viptera and other varieties that do not have major export market approval,” Bunge’s statement read. “Our obligation to our farmer customers is to provide access to the global marketplace and the price benefits of that access. Syngenta’s decision to commercialize Agrisure Viptera should not foreclose our ability to sell to a major market, China.”

A joint statement issued late last month by the National Grain and Feed Assoc. and North American Export Grain Assoc. appears to take Bunge’s side in the dispute.

It says it’s important all players in the “value chain” be able to make choices as they see fit.

An “overly aggressive” drive to introduce biotechnology into export markets could result in cargo rejection and reduced access to some export markets, the statement adds: “Putting the Chinese and other markets at risk with such aggressive commercialization of biotech-enhanced events is not in the best interest of U.S. agriculture or the U.S. economy.”

In its legal complaint, Syngenta rejects these arguments. Instead, it argues that Bunge accepts grain not only for the export market, but also for domestic use, and states it has spoken with employees at Bunge grain elevators who’ve said they can work with farmers who have Agrisure Viptera corn to market.
The complaint also says Bunge isn’t telling the truth when it says China is a major U.S. export market. It quotes the USDA that China’s U.S. corn imports represented less than 3 percent of total 2010-11 U.S. corn exports.

It also says Agrisure Viptera corn grain or seed has been approved for a number of major U.S. export markets. Quinn Showalter, Trait Marketing manager for Syngenta, echoed much of what is in the complaint, but added in the past, other companies have not delayed commercialization of their biotechnology products because of lack of Chinese approvals.
He said Monsanto and Dow AgroSciences both conducted similar product launches in 2010 in the absence of Chinese approvals because it’s not considered a key export market.

The company is asking for in excess of $75,000 in damages and is also asking that Bunge be prevented from refusing Agrisure Viptera corn at its grain elevators. Syngenta filed its suit Aug. 22.