Spain approves nine new GM corn varieties

UNCLAS MADRID 000651 SIPDIS State please pass to USTR E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAGR ECON ETRD SP EUN SUBJECT: Spain approves nine new GM corn varieties REF: Madrid 000513 ¶1. SUMMARY. The Spanish government approved last week nine new varieties of genetically modified (GM) corn for commercial planting. This reflects a continued openness towards GM cultivation for feed in Spain. In 1998 and 2003, six other GM corn varieties were approved for planting. The new GOS approval also contained labeling and tracking requirements. END SUMMARY. ¶2. On February 16, 2004, the Spanish Official Gazette (the equivalent of the Federal Register) published a list of new biotech corn varieties that can now be planted in Spain. The nine new varieties approved by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fish (MAFF) are: -- Genetic modification CG 00256-176 19970357 SANSONE BT 19970348 ESCOBAR -- Genetic modification MON 810 20000398 CAMPERO 20000421 CUARTAL BT 20000387 DKC 6550 19970303 GAMBIER BT 20000384 JARAL 19980499 PR32P76 19980528 PROTECT ¶3. The Spanish government first approved the commercial cultivation of one GM corn variety, 00256-176 in 1998. Later, in 2003, the MAFF decided to approve five more Bt varieties, four with MON810 and one with CG176. The GOS originally limited GMO planting surface to 25,000 hectares, but raised the level in 2003 to 50,000 hectares. In 2003, the total Spanish farmland planted with GM corn was 32,000 hectares. With the nine new varieties, the expectation is that the GM corn acreage will increase this year. ¶4. The MAFF order requires that the seed packages of the newly approved corn varieties be labeled: "genetically modified variety." The order also says that sales catalog descriptions of the newly approved corn varieties must state that the varieties are genetically modified and that such modification protects them from the corn borer. For varieties containing the CG 00256-176 modification, it must also say that they have increased tolerance to the herbicide ammonium gluphosinate. ¶5. The order contains an annex requiring that all purchasers of such seeds participate in a tracking plan. The annex has several main points: -- Seed suppliers must create a tracking plan to last at least five years, and they must present that to the MAFF within the next two months. (The industry has already held discussions with the MAFF over the past months.) -- Seed suppliers must report annually to the MAFF and the newly-created GMO Interministerial Council the seed sales of each variety by location including a purchaser list. -- Tracking plans must contain, among other factors, an evaluation of the effectiveness of the insecticide character introduced in the varieties, and a study of possible resistance in the borer population. -- In the case of some insect resistance, farmers are required to inform the GMO Interministerial Council as well as the newly-created National Committee of Bio-vigilance and the competent agency of their regional government. MANZANARES