www.checkbiotech.org ; www.raupp.info ; www.czu.cz

The Agriculture and Forestry Ministry of New Zealand has tried to invoice an
American seed supply company for the costs of the genetically modified
sweetcorn blunder, despite admitting border procedures were not up to
scratch, February 2007 by Patrick Crewdson.

Four tonnes of sweetcorn slipped past border control in October and
November, mistakenly cleared by ministry quarantine officers despite
documentation showing the parent crop had tested positive for GM organisms.
More than $7 million worth of crops had to be destroyed.

Despite admitting partial responsibility for the blunder, the ministry is
seeking reimbursement from American seed supplier Syngenta.

In a December 22 letter obtained by The Dominion Post under the Official
Information Act, the ministry asked Syngenta for $167,000 to reimburse the
ministry for costs incurred responding to the breach.

The costs of crop destruction operations, field inspections and operations
management were initially estimated at $93,000, but that figure was revised
upward when additional work was required because of poor germination of the
seeds.

Ministry staff had spent an estimated 980 hours working on the matter, at a
cost of more than $70,000, the letter said. The cost of senior management's
time, travel and other disbursements were not included.

A spokesman for Syngenta said the company was still considering the
ministry's request.

Meanwhile, Syngenta had reached agreement with all the processing companies,
meaning farmers would either have their crops replanted or would receive
compensation for loss of income or costs incurred. Many farmers who had
replanted would also receive compensation for lower crop volumes as a result
of later-planted crops.

Of 147 hectares affected in Gisborne, 104ha had been replanted, as had all
of the 111ha affected in Hawke's Bay.

The spokesman would not say how much compensation had been paid, saying it
was a commercial arrangement between Syngenta and processors.

Earlier this month, the Government admitted the biosecurity breach was
linked to "disappointing and unacceptable" failures within the MAF
quarantine service.

The ministry's official report found an error of judgment on the part of the
inspecting officer as well as a lack of appropriate peer review

[www.stuff.co.nz]