US farmers sue Syngenta over GMO corn rejected by China

Swiss marketers of seeds and agrochemicals Syngenta has been sued by farmers from the biggest corn-growing states in the US over the rejection of genetically modified corn seed from China.

Farmers from Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri accused Syngenta of being reckless during the launch of US sales of Agrisure Viptera corn seed in 2011 without obtaining import approval from China, which is considered to be a major buyer.

According to the complaint, the farmers who did not plant seed containing the unapproved trait claimed that after China began rejecting huge quantities of crops containing Viptera corn last year, they suffered losses.

The National Grain & Feed Association said in April that the incident had caused US farmers to suffer losses of more than $1bn.

Coordinated by law firm Hausfeld LLP, the lawsuits will open complaints to all US farmers who grew non-Viptera corn after China’s rejection of the trait in 2013.

Hausfeld LLP partner James Pizzirusso was quoted by Reuters as saying: "There are a lot of angry farmers out there who really feel like Syngenta needs to step up and do the right thing, and that is compensate farmers for all the losses that occurred as a result of Syngenta prematurely rushing the product to market."

According to court documents, the disputed corn was planted in approximately 3% of US corn acres during the past two years. However, industry members have said the trait can be found throughout the supply chain as segregating varieties is difficult.

Syngenta was also sued by agribusiness company Cargill and another exporter separately for selling the corn seeds before Beijing approved imports. They claimed that the companies suffered damages of $131m after China’s rejection.

The US Department of Agriculture is trying to negotiate with China to synchronise its regulatory review of new traits with the US to reduce approval times.

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Image: Syngenta is being sued by farmers across US over GMO corn rejected by China. Photo: courtesy of foto76 at freedigitalphotos.net.