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Syngenta faces second lawsuit over MIR 162

A second company has filed suit against Syngenta over sales of the genetically modified seed corn trait, MIR 162, not approved by China.  According to Reuters, Trans Coastal Supply Company, a major exporter of livestock feed products, says it expects to lose more than $41 million because Syngenta sold Agrisure Viptera to US farmers without first obtaining import approval from Beijing.

Court documents filed last week claim the majority of Illinois-based Trans Coastal’s losses are related to exports of distillers dried grains used in livestock feed.

The company’s complaint says there are concerns that MIR 162 can be found throughout the US corn supply chain – from seed planted in farmers’ fields to the byproduct of ethanol production, DDGs.  The lawsuit claims, “Syngenta’s motivation in prematurely releasing Viptera corn is greed and if not stopped, Syngenta is going to continue to destroy US exports of corn and DDGs to China.”

The news of Trans Coastal’s filing comes shortly after Cargill filed a lawsuit seeking damages from Syngenta for losses related to two of Cargill’s grain export facilities in Louisiana that loaded the vessels that were destined for and then rejected by China.

Syngenta says the lawsuits filed by both Trans Coastal and Cargill are without merit.