Another company refused Syngenta's Agrisure Viptera corn

Cargill Inc. says it will not accept Syngenta’s genetically modified Agrisure Viptera corn at its North American wet milling plants until the corn variety is approved by the European Union.

The corn line was barred earlier by St. Louis-based Bunge Ltd. Bunge is awaiting additional export market approval, particularly from China. Syngenta sued Bunge on Aug. 22 over the refusal. (AgroNews 2011-08-24)

"Cargill strongly values its right to accept or restrict products of agricultural biotechnology, dependent on the approval status in export markets and needs of our customers,” a Cargill spokeswoman told Reuters.

"Consistent with our long-standing wet milling position, Cargill cannot accept Viptera at these facilities until it has received regulatory approvals in the EU,” she told Reuters.

Syngenta has set up a call center to handle questions and concerns from growers at 800-319-1360.

"Farmers can call in and find out about elevators in their area that are or are not accepting grain. It’s done by zip code. If they’ve got other questions, they can also use the same number,” said Pat Steiner, Corn Portfolio Head for Syngenta.

Viptera, which has been bioengineered to protect against insect damage, represents less than 2 percent of the U.S. corn crop. It has been approved for shipment to several major corn export markets.

Meanwhile, Syngenta said it has been in contact with U.S. ethanol plants to identify “suitable outlets” for Viptera corn.

"We’re going to continue to do everything we can to ensure that grain is moving freely, and we are continuing to work with grain handlers again to make sure that growers aren’t hardshipped,” said Steiner.