Soyabean meal shipped to the United States from countries suffering from a fast-spreading crop fungus should not be handled by port facilities that previously carried whole soyabeans, a US industry group has told the Bush administration.
The US Department of Agriculture is nearing a decision on steps that must be taken, either through federal regulation or private contracting specifications, to stop soyabean "rust" from reaching US shores.
The American Soyabean Association, in recommendations to the US Department of Agriculture, recently wrote, "If a (grain) elevator is used to load one ship with soyabeans containing live rust spores, it is quite possible that some spores will get mixed with the next cargo that is loaded."
"Because of this, we recommend that any soyabean meal shipped to the United States be loaded only in ship-loading facilities that have not loaded soyabeans in the recent past," the industry group urged.
Soyabean rust, which can spread quickly through the air, has caused extensive damage to Brazil's soya crop this year. USDA fears that if the fungus arrives in the United States, plant yield losses combined with added fungicide applications would cost the domestic industry billions of dollars.
On Monday, Agriculture Under secretary Bill Hawks said new US steps aimed at preventing the import of soyabean rust should be in place "relatively soon."
But first, he said, USDA must complete studies on how long fungal spores can survive after harvest, which could help determine how long foreign soyabeans must be quarantined before export. While he didn't say how long the research would take, the soyabean industry group has estimated it could be autumn.
Additional imports of soyameal from Brazil are expected this summer for southeastern US livestock feed. It is less certain the United States will import whole soyabeans from Brazil, it's main competitor in world soyabean trade.
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