To help poultry and livestock farmers secure extra supply of raw
material to feed their animals, EU regulators are likely to approve imports
of a genetically modified (GM) maize type this month.
The maize, known by its codename GA21, is marketed by Swiss
agrochemicals company Syngenta and intended for use in food and animal feed,
not for growing in Europe's fields.

The expected EU approval comes after farm ministers fell short of a
consensus agreement at a meeting in February to allow imports of five
separate GM products, one of which was GA21 maize, paving the way for
default approval by legal rubberstamp.

The EU approval is of particular interest to grain traders in Spain
and Portugal, since the modified strain may only now be imported in
processed form.

The request for EU approval by Syngenta, one of the world's largest
producers of GMO seeds, would allow GA21 imports as grain. When authorised,
those imports are expected to come into EU markets mainly from Argentina, a
major GMO crop grower.
[www.worldpoultry.net]