Ethanol Blog

A class action lawsuit against Syngenta AG over biotech traits in some of its corn seeds is gaining momentum, according to columnist Stu Ellis for the Decatur, Illinois Herald and Review (http://bit.ly/…).

The lawsuit, representing U.S. corn growers, seeks to recover damages when China began rejecting shipments of U.S. corn and distillers grains containing Syngenta's MIR 162 (Agrisure Viptera) biotech trait in December 2013. China had not yet approved the trait and found traces of MIR 162 in shipments of corn and dried distillers grains, even though the trait has been approved in 19 countries including the U.S. since 2010.

After China dragged its feet for more than a year on the approval, on Dec. 22, Syngenta received the official certificate from Chinese authorities that formally granted approval for imports of corn and DDG containing the trait.

The lawsuit claims, based on an estimate from the National Grain and Feed Association, that the U.S. corn market lost between $1 billion and $2.9 billion. However, the lawsuit does not contain a specific request for damages yet.

Although multiple lawsuits have been filed against Syngenta across the Corn Belt, they are all being merged into one, single class-action suit, in order to illustrate to the federal court about the impact an unapproved biotech trait can make on the market.

The case maintains that Syngenta made a wrong decision, in commercializing the sale of MIR 162 before it was approved in China, thereby risking a large export market. The suit contends that after Syngenta applied for MIR 162 approval from China, it failed to inform U.S. farmers planting seed containing the trait that their crops might not be marketable there.

Any farmer entering the class-action suit will not be charged fees, and will share any proceeds collected from Syngenta.

Cheryl Anderson can be reached at Cheryl.anderson@dtn.com

(ES)

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