The International Soybean Growers Alliance (ISGA) is made up of soy growers and industry representatives from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Paraguay, the US and Uruguay. The Alliance has been sending delegations to China for several years.
“Biotech trade approval has always been a challenge for us particularly with China and the EU and I’m always interested in hearing about why it takes so long,” Doug Winters, a member of the visiting delegation, US Soybean Export Council (USSEC) board member and United Soybean Board (USB) director, told us.
“There are least eight [GM] events that are still waiting approval in China,” he said.
The latest ISGA mission involved an exchange of ideas with Chinese officials regarding the development and use of biotech crops, said Winters.
“We try to make it a dialogue so we can understand what challenges they’re running into."
Take-up of new traits
Often there are new GM traits developed that soybean producers cannot take advantage of because the strains have yet to be approved in China, he said. In the US, much of the focus has been on new work on herbicide resistance while in some of the Latin American countries, like Brazil and Argentina, the focus has been on disease and insect resistance.
“You can’t grow the trait because it’s not approved for all the supply chain [export markets] – we have to be good stewards,” he said.
Using newer strains of GM soybeans can allow farmers to be more sustainable in their production practices, to be more profitable and to limit the use of herbicides. Some new GM soybean strains, due to their improved amino acid content, may also help reduce feed input costs as synthetic amino acids do not have to be added to the feed, said Winters.
“ISGA [members account for] over 90% of the soybeans produced in the world and the more you talk to farmers in other countries, the more you find we have the same problems – biotech approvals are one,” said Winters. “There are a lot of things that affect the sustainability of the crops and we’ve got to find a better and speedier process for biotech approval.”
Consumer acceptance
He said China is a like a lot of the rest of the world in that there are challenges in relation to consumer acceptance of genetically engineered crops.
To try and address consumer fears about GM technology, the IGSA organized public screenings in China of a film about biotechnology and they sought to engage with consumers through media and social media outreach, he said.
The ISGA intends to build on that media work, said Winters.
Winters outlined how, through these ISGA trips and as a result of other initiatives organized by the US Soybean Export Council, the soy sector is establishing and developing relationships with members of China's feed sector including nutritionists, feed millers and other stakeholders.
“Our market is animal feed use – that is our priority."
Beyond China
The US anticipates that it will export about 61% of the current soybean crop, said Winters. Half of that is expected to go to China.
However, other international markets also are gaining some attention, he said.
“We pay a lot of attention to China, but one of our growing customers has been South Korea."
Vietnam and the Philippians also have been areas of interest based on the aquaculture industry, along with Taiwan and Japan, he said. “We have to pay attention to the other export markets that make up the other half of our export market,” he added.
Additionally, international markets may be expanding for countries like India or in parts of Africa, he said.
“India has been a net exporter of soybeans, but they’re at an equilibrium [and] they’re starting to use a lot more of their soybean production,” said Winters. “We think that they’re going to become a net importer of soybeans [and] one of the new markets that we’re really starting to pay attention to is the African market.”