About 63,000 tons of genetically modified U.S.
corn arrived in South Korea on Thursday, the first large-scale imports
for human consumption since the government began regulating biotech
crops in 2001.
Four major South Korean
companies, which make up about 90 percent of the corn processing
market, had refrained from importing such corn because of negative
perceptions among consumers of genetically modified organisms, or GMOs.
But now they say they cannot help but import GMO corn.
"China
has stopped exports, while European countries are sweeping off non-GMO
corn from Latin American nations," said Yoo Chang-kyu, an official with
the Korea Corn Processing Association, the business lobby for the four
companies. "We don`t have any other options."
The companies use corn to produce corn starch, a key ingredient in cookies, beverages, ice cream and other foods.
Environmental and consumer groups protested the import of biotech corn, calling it "monster food."
"The safety of genetically modified corn has
not been fully verified," they said in a joint statement. "If food is
made with it, the health of our nation`s people can be threatened."
On Thursday, activists held a protest at the port of Ulsan, where the GMO corn arrived, Yonhap news agency reported.
South
Korea imported about 10.5 million tons of corn last year, with 8.2
million tons intended for animal feed and 2.3 million tons for human
consumption, according to the Agriculture Ministry.
About
half of the amount for human consumption was imported from China, 30
percent from the United States and the remainder from Brazil and other
Latin American nations, it said.
China began limiting corn exports last year to avoid domestic shortages.
Local newspapers said the four Korean companies are expected to import about 1.3 million tons of GMO corn this year.
But
Yoo, of the corn processing association, said the amount is likely to
be less than that considering the expected backlash from consumers. He
provided no exact estimate.
Yoo said the price of non-GMO corn has more than doubled to about US$360 per ton since 2006.
South Korea enforced a regulation in 2001 that calls for the labeling of products that contain GMOs.
Although
no GMO corn had been imported in large amounts since then, about 70
percent of the country`s soybean imports are genetically modified,
according to the Korea Food and Drug Administration.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
