Bridges Trade BioRes • Volume 2 • Number 1 • 24th January 2002

Brazil Wins Premium by Producing GM-Free Corn

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Brazil Wins Premium by Producing GM-Free Corn

This past season the corn harvest in Brazil reached a record with a harvest of 42 million tonnes. Although the major part of the production is consumed by the domestic livestock industry, exports could also face a record estimated to 6.2 million tonnes. This is an improvement compared to last season’s net imports of 1.8 million tonnes. The relatively large export is not only due to the increased amount produced, but also due to the fact that Brazil has banned genetically modified crops and is thus only exporting GM-free corn, which has attracted importers. Furthermore, international buyers pay a $US6-7 premium per tonne for Brazilian corn, due to the fact that is not genetically modified, said Paulo Molinhari, a corn analyst from Safras e Mercado. The three main importing countries of the Brazilian GM-free corn are Spain, Iran and Japan. “There is plenty of corn in the US right now. Japan and Iran can just as easily look there, but they are turning to Brazil to find GM-free corn,” Molinhari said.

“Brazil GM-free corn exports seen at record - Safras,” REUTERS, 15 January 2002.