AgroPages-Syngenta sees China approval of biotech corn 'soon'-Agricultural news

Syngenta AG expects Chinese regulators "very soon" to approve for import the company's Agrisure Viptera biotech corn, a company official said Wednesday.

Syngenta in June received a request from Chinese regulators for more information about Viptera and quickly provided it, said Ponsi Trivisvavet, head of Syngenta's global corn business, in an interview at the Farm Progress Show, a three-day industry event here.

The Swiss agribusiness company, which submitted its original application to China in March 2010, is now waiting to hear more, Ms. Trivisvavet said, declining to predict precisely when approval could come.

Agrisure Viptera corn hit a hurdle last year when Bunge Ltd. (BG), a major U.S.-based grain exporter, refused to buy it from farmers because China hadn't yet approved it. Other major markets, including Japan, have approved the corn for import.

Syngenta's customer-service team can provide farmers with a list of grain elevators that will accept the corn, Ms. Trivisvavet said when asked how the company would handle any rejections by elevators this year.

Ms. Trivisvavet also said Syngenta aims to build a 30% U.S. market share in less than 10 years in a new industry segment for corn that can withstand low-moisture growing conditions or drought. Syngenta's Agrisure Artesian corn-seed technology is applicable to about 40 million acres of farmland in the U.S., she said.