Livestock farmers in Europe may on Tuesday gain their second fillip in a week in their battle against high fodder prices, through a concession on genetically modified foods which would facilitate imports of cheaper feed ingredients.
European Union countries are to vote on long-discussed plans to allow small quantities of unapproved genetically modified crops to be permitted in import cargos, before they incur bans under the region's stringent limitations on biotechnology.
Under the current "zero tolerance" policy, even minute traces of biotech products leave a cargo in breach of EU curbs and at risk of being turned away, leaving merchants reluctant to handle shipments from countries offering any risk of accidental contamination.
Tuesday's meeting of a European Commission committee on animal nutrition could see a limit of 0.1% on biotech traces voted in, a move which feed groups have viewed as a "first step" towards freeing up their access to foreign supplies, notably of protein meals such as soymeal.
'Opportune moment'
Indeed, Fefac, the European compound feed industry association, warned that without a concession, "many livestock farmers, especially pig holdings, will have to close down their operations since they cannot pass on higher feed costs to the consumer in the present market context".
And with South America's soybean crop at the start of its harvest, permission for the small levels of biotech contamination would come at "an opportune moment", Fefac director general Alexander Doring said.
Consent would also follow the EU's agreement last week to shelve import quotas on feed barley and wheat , a move which, shipping and currency costs allowing, could encourage purchases from as far as Australia.
French reservations
Feed groups have argued that zero tolerance is unworkable given the high levels of genetically modified crops grown by producers of, in particular, vegetable protein crops, of which there is a limited choice of exporting countries.
In Brazil, for instance, the second-ranked soymeal exporter, an estimated 80% of the soybean crop was planted with genetically modified seed, according to US estimates.
The EU is the top buyer of foreign soymeal, accounting for nearly 40% of global imports last season.
However, in some European countries, biotech crops are anathema even at minimal levels.
The EU last week postponed a vote over genetically modified crops, in the face of opposition from nine member states, led by France.
