South Korean wheat buyers oppose the introduction of genetically modified wheat in the United States

Lead: Reuters Washington May 2 Reuters Washington May 2 Reuters: this week South Korean wheat mills, also major buyers of US wheat, sent a tough message to the us that if the Bush Administration approved the legal planting of genetically modified wheat, they would boycott US wheat During a visit to the United States, officials of the Korean Wheat Processing Industry Association (kofmia) said they had informed wheat growers and government officials in Montana and North Dakota that planting genetically modified wheat in the United States would damage their wheat trade During this visit, the association purchased 208800 tons of American flour wheat Hi sang Lee, President of zv7 kofmia, predicted that if GM wheat entered the Korean market, consumers would boycott all wheat (from the United States) At present, the United States accounts for more than half of the total wheat imports of South Korea, Australia accounts for about 40%, and Canada accounts for 6% Last year, South Korea imported 2.37 million tons of powdered wheat, mainly for noodles, bread, soy sauce and other products Zv7 Monsanto has been committed to the development of the world's first genetically modified wheat, and is seeking approval from the United States and Canada According to Monsanto, the roundup ready wheat has been improved to be resistant to Monsanto's Roundup herbicide and can increase the unit yield by more than 11% IL Woong Kim, President of Shinhan flour processing company in Seoul, said his company made corn syrup But after the U.S approved that genetically modified corn could also be used to make corn syrup, South Korea stopped buying U.S corn and instead bought Chinese and Brazilian corn Zv7 consumers are vehemently opposed to zv7 IL Woong Kim's prediction that a similar situation will occur if the US approves the production of genetically modified wheat According to a recent survey, 80% of South Korean consumers are against genetically modified food, and the consumer association is also a powerful organization against genetically modified technology This week, South Korean flour producers asked North Dakota government officials to issue a statement confirming that durum red winter wheat produced in the state is not genetically modified because of concerns about consumer resistance Roger johnso, Agricultural Commissioner of North Dakota, zv7, said it was very easy to provide such a letter to the Korean wheat milling industry, which will be sent next week, but it will not mention whether genetically modified wheat will be planted in the future Zv7 farmers in the United States have different views on this attitude, and the Wheat Industry Association insists that it opposes the cultivation of genetically modified wheat until the product is widely accepted by consumers South Korean flour producers of zv7 are concerned that major wheat producing countries may grow genetically modified wheat Because rice is the main food for Koreans, they are worried that consumers will give up eating wheat Flour producers are also concerned that if GM wheat is introduced, the price of non GM wheat will rise, because separating GM wheat from conventional wheat will lead to additional costs Dong Jin Chung, President of Korean flour processing company in Seoul, said it was a very difficult issue, so he hoped to talk about it in private rather than in public In South Korea, he added, they were reluctant to mention GM wheat ZV7