S.Korea rejects Argentina feed wheat after GMO strain found

South Korea rejected a shipment of Argentine feed wheat after finding unapproved strains of genetically modified organisms (GMO) in the cargo, the agriculture ministry said on Tuesday.

Seoul bans the entry of unapproved genetically modified organisms, defined as living modified organisms (LMO) under bio safety regulations.

In 2013, South Korean millers suspended imports of U.S. wheat after the discovery of an unapproved strain of genetically modified wheat in the United States.

“After testing 72,450 tonnes of feed wheat cargoes imported from Argentina on July 12, an unapproved strain of LMO was detected and we asked to discard or send all back,” the ministry said in a statement.

The Argentine feed wheat cargo was shipped by the bulk carrier ANTONIS to South Korea, said an official at the Korean Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency.

Thomson Reuters ship tracking data showed the vessel is heading to Australia’s Gladstone port after discharging feed wheat products at South Korea’s Pyeongtaek and Kunsan ports.

The ministry said it would continue with LMO tests of imported agricultural products to be thorough in ensuring safety.

In Buenos Aires, a grains export company executive said there is no GMO wheat cultivated in Argentina.

“So it must have been something left in the hold of the ship from a previous cargo,” said the executive, who asked not to be identified.

South Korea is not banning imports of feed wheat from Argentina, only the shipment containing the unapproved strain, a ministry official, who declined to be identified, told Reuters.

Of the South Korean feed wheat buyers, Nonghyup Feed Inc said they are looking into the situation after the government’s decision, while the Korea Feed Association could not be reached for comment.

Asia’s fourth-largest economy mostly imports feed wheat from Australia, India, Ukraine and Canada. It imported 396,900 tonnes of Argentine feed wheat in June out of total imports of 910,946 tonnes, according to the statement.

Ample Argentine wheat supply and the low quality of the crop harvested in December-January as helped increase shipments of feed wheat to Asia. Argentine growers invested little in fertilizers during last year’s planting season because of uncertainty about the country’s grains export policies.

After free-market proponent Mauricio Macri came from behind to win Argentina’s presidency last November, he opened the country’s grains export market and ditched wheat export taxes. This prompted farmers to sell their stockpiles.

Lower quality wheat has translated to lower prices, making Argentine feed wheat more attractive to Asian buyers.

“When you analyse the destinations that Argentine feed wheat is being shipped to, there has been a radical shift toward Asia,” said Leandro Pierbattisti, chief analyst with Argentina’s grains warehousing chamber.