- Syngenta commercialized its Agrisure Viptera® (MIR 162) corn seed before corn derived from the GMO seed was approved for import by China.
- Syngenta’s knowing, premature release of the GMO seed into the marketplace resulted in China beginning to reject or destroy imports of U.S. corn due to the presence of the MIR 162 trait in June 2013.
- The price of corn plummeted, costing U.S. exporters and farmers up to $2.9 billion because of the uncertain trade environment created by Syngenta’s conduct.
- When China approved the importation of MIR 162 corn in October 2014, the price of corn rose significantly.
According to the president of Cargill Grain & Oilseed Supply Chain of North America, Mark Stonacek, “unlike other seed companies, Syngenta has not practiced responsible stewardship by broadly commercializing [Agrisure Viptera® (MIR 162) corn seed] before receiving approval from key export market like China.” Syngenta’s CEO, Michael Mack, said on an earnings call in April 2012 that he expected China to approve Syngenta’s GMO corn “within a matter of a couple of days.” Over two years later, it still wasn’t approved.
On December 22, 2014, Syngenta boasted on its website that it “received the safety certificate for its Agrisure Viptera® trait (event MIR 162) from China’s regulatory authorities, formally granting import approval.” http://www.syngenta.com/global/corporate/en/news-center/newsreleases/ Pages/141222.aspx. How can the Chief Executive Officer of a $32.6 billion company be so wrong about something so critical as when the world’s largest importer of U.S. corn will approve the importation of its GMO derived product? It smacks of corporate greed and is analogous to how we found ourselves in a war in Iraq for over seven years.
After Syngenta’s release of MIR 162 into the U.S. corn seed crop and before China began turning back or destroying U.S. corn shipments in which MIR 162 corn was detected, corn was selling for approximately $7.00 a bushel. From June 2013 (when China began rejecting shipments) until October 2014 (when China approved importation of GMO corn), the price fell to approximately $3.25 a bushel. The price rose significantly after China’s acceptance, but still has not rebounded to where it was before Syngenta’s wrongful conduct. In November 2014, for example, economists at Kansas State University projected the 2015 corn price to average $4.15 a bushel.
Cargill Inc. filed suit in September 2014, alleging Sygenta’s conduct cost the U.S. grain company $90 million. China’s rejection of corn shipments containing the MIR 162 trait all but closed a major market for the grain. According to U.S. grain groups, Syngenta’s actions ultimately contributed to a sharp decline (approximately 60%) in 2014 prices for the U.S.’s biggest crop by value and cost the industry, including farmers, at least hundreds of millions of dollars.
Written by:
William J. “Will” Maiberger, Jr.
Watts Guerra LLP
4 Dominion Drive, Bldg. 3, Suite 100
San Antonio, Texas 78257
Phone (210) 447-0500
Email wmaiberger@guerrallp.com
*This information is provided to supply information relating to the Cargill, Inc. suit against Syngenta, and should not be received as legal advice. Legal advice is only given to persons or entities with whom Watts Guerra LLP has established an attorney-client relationship. If you have a lawyer, you should consult with your own attorney, and rely upon his or her advice, rather than the information contained herein.
© Watts Guerra LLP 2015
