CANBERRA, Australia – Australian grain producers see an opportunity to increase sales to Japan because of Canada’s use of transgenic crops.
An Australian Wheat Board official predicts Japan is likely to be extremely cautious about the transgenic crops coming onto the market, including canola and soy beans from Canada and the United States.
The board’s Japan director, Simon Burgess, said the issue of transgenic foods is topical in Japan, where there is extreme sensitivity over food safety.
“We are not sure where consumers are at this moment, but our expectation is that Japan will be very nervous of genetically engineered produce,” Burgess said.
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News that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has suspended some canola because of a genetic mixup will make the Japanese even more concerned.
The Australians could gain a marketing advantage in Japan from selling conventional crops, Burgess said.
“The very fact that Australia is exporting canola that is not genetically engineered might be a niche area where we can extract a premium.”
It could also take advantage of the fact Australia has been slow to move into the production of genetically engineered food crops. The only major crop approved so far is a pest-resistant cotton.
The board is looking for increased export markets after Australian growers almost doubled their canola acreage this winter, to a record 2.1 million acres.
Traders warned that such a crop could be hard to sell on overseas markets without discounts.
