US embassy cable - 04MADRID651

UNCLAS MADRID 000651 
 
SIPDIS 
 
State please pass to USTR 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAGR, ECON, ETRD, SP, EUN, Trade Issues, European Union 
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