RT: US corn exports to China drop 85 percent after ban on GMO strains

From RT.com:

Published time: April 12, 2014 12:11

AFP Photo / Philippe Huguen

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Overall, China has barred nearly 1.45 million tons of corn shipments since last year, the National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA), an American industry association, said Friday.China’s rejection of shipments of US corn containing traces of unapproved genetically modified maize has caused a significant drop in exports. According to a new report, US traders have lost $427 million in sales.

The tally is based on data from export companies and is significantly higher than the previous numbers reported by the media, which said roughly 900,000 tons were affected. US corn exports to China since January are down 85 percent from the same period last year, the report says.

China has been blocking shipments of American corn from its market since November. This was caused by the presence of the MIR162 genetically modified corn strain in the shipments. It was developed by the company Syngenta and has not been approved by the Chinese government since an application was submitted in March 2010.

China has sharply increased corn imports since the late 2000s, with purchases increasing from 47,000 tons in 2008 to an estimated 5 million tons last year. It was the third-largest importer of American corn before the imports of Syngenta’s GMO strain were blocked.

US traders want seed companies to shoulder some of the losses. They also say seed companies should not introduce new varieties of seeds to farmers until they are approved by major markets, including China.

Part of the ire is also falling on the Chinese government, which, traders say, maintains an opaque process of approving and rejecting GMO strains, an accusation that Beijing rejects. China has so far approved 15 genetically modified corn strains for import.

China’s plan for global network of surveillance satellites

Via News.com.au (Australia):

MARCH 31, 2014 12:31AM

Eyes in space... A satellite in orbit above the Earth. Picture: AP Source: AP

CHINA is considering a plan to cover the entire world with a network of surveillance satellites.

If it went ahead the plan could see more than 50 observation satellites in orbit within two years, The South China Morning Post reported. This would put the country’s satellite surveillance capabilities on a par, or greater than, the US.

The paper said support for the massive upscale was fuelled by China’s frustration over the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight 370.

After a three-week search satellites have been unable to locate for certain debris from the disappeared plane, which was carrying mainly Chinese passengers on a scheduled flight to Beijing.

Unidentified objects... Taken by a Thai satellite this image shows floating objects in the southern Indian Ocean. Experts have been unable to say if they belong to the missing Malaysian plane. Picture: AFP Source: AFP

“If we had a global monitoring network today, we wouldn’t be searching in the dark. We would have a much greater chance to find the plane and trace it to its final position,” Professor Chi Tianhe, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, told the paper.

There are currently about 1000 satellites in orbit above the planet, though most are only for communications. Of these around 150 are for observation, remote-sensing and spying, according to statistics from the US-based Union of Concerned Scientists.

China’s current satellite surveillance capabilities are a state secret, though most of them are thought to be carrying out surveillance over China and the surrounding region.

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So there you have it. It appears the Chinese are behind the disappearance, pulling a page out of the USA's playbook (create the crisis to generate support to advance your agenda).

AA