Article

by Carey Gillam

U.S. wheat exports should not be hurt by the second discovery of experimental Monsanto Co. genetically modified wheat growing in a U.S. state where it was not approved, industry leaders said on Friday, because the wheat is not believed to be in commercial channels.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced Friday that it was investigating the discovery of wheat plants containing an unapproved genetic alteration in Montana.

Last year, an Oregon farmer's discovery of Monsanto's experimental wheat in his field roiled international markets. South Korea and Japan temporarily halted purchases of U.S. wheat due to fears the unapproved biotech wheat might have contaminated U.S. wheat supplies. Some U.S. farmers sued Monsanto over the market disruption.

"We are in the process now of informing our international wheat buyers," Alan Tracy, president of U.S. Wheat Associates, said in a statement. The organization handles global marketing for the U.S. wheat industry. "We do not expect any disruption in sales."

U.S. Wheat and the National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) said the industry is reassured by regulatory assurances that no biotech wheat has entered the commercial supply chain.

The groups said APHIS notified them in mid-August of the discovery of Monsanto's "Roundup Ready" wheat in Montana.

Arlan Suderman, market analyst with Water Street Solutions, said some Asian buyers of American wheat could pull back from new purchases, but the reaction would likely be more muted than last year.

"The initial reaction we anticipate over the weekend is going to be some of our customers, particularly in Asia, pulling back and taking a wait-and-see attitude," he said. "I expect a little bit smaller reaction than what we got the last time, though, because the industry has done a good job of reassuring them about the purity and quality of the crop."

APHIS launched its investigation into the Montana situation on July 14, according to Bernadette Juarez, director of investigative and enforcement services for APHIS.

The biotech wheat was found growing at a research facility for Montana State University in Huntley, Montana, where field trials of Monsanto's wheat were conducted between 2000 and 2003, she said.

Andrew Kimbrell, executive director of the Center for Food Safety and a critic of GMO crops, said the fact that unapproved GMO wheat has again been found uncontrolled in the environment underscores fears that many farmers have about contamination of non-GMO crops by the biotech types.

“This new incident shows once again that co-existence is a fantasy," he said. "We don’t know how this contamination happens and we don’t know how to control it. This represents a continuing threat to the livelihood of American farmers.”

(Reporting By Carey Gillam in Kansas City; Editing by David Gregorio)