U.S. soybean producers fret over rust infestations from imports
American soybean producers want the U.S. government to keep the market closed to soybean imports until a thorough risk assessment of the disease is complete.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is conducting the risk assessment on soybean imports from rust-affected countries.
“Given the impact soybean rust would have on soybean production and growers in the U.S., the only prudent course of action is to avoid imports from diseased areas until APHIS completes its risk assessment,” said Ron Heck, president of the St. Louis-based American Soybean Association (ASA), in a statement.
Soybean rust is not present in the United States or Canada, but it has been found in Asian and Australian crops for decades. In 1996, the disease moved from Asia to Uganda, and by 2002, has spread throughout much of Africa. In 2001, soybean rust was found in South America and has spread to soybean growing areas of Brazil, Paraguay, and Bolivia. By 2003, rust had also spread to a northern, non-soybean growing area of Argentina.
For more than two years, ASA has worked with APHIS to protect the United States’ 74 million acres of soybean from accidental introduction of rust, a fungal disease that attacks the foliage of a soybean plant. Rust spores can be transmitted on plant stems, pods, and leaves that are typically mixed with bulk shipments of commodity grade whole soybeans. The disease can reduce crop yields as much as 80 percent or more, but does not affect the quality or safety of the soybeans.
In a phytosanitary alert issued by the North American Plant Protection Organization, it’s estimated that soybean rust could adversely affect all soybean varieties in the United States at an estimated cost of $7.2 billion, which represents about half the value of the U.S. soybean crop.
A drought-reduced 2003 soybean crop, combined with record exports and strong domestic demand, has led to U.S. soybean ending stocks at the lowest levels in almost 30 years. Due to this tight supply situation, USDA analysts project imports of 430,000 metric tons of soybean meal will be needed to sustain and feed the U.S. livestock demand base.
“From risk assessment information APHIS has shared with ASA, soybean meal can continue to be imported under the proper protocols without risk of introducing soybean rust into the United States,” Heck said. “U.S. soybean growers need U.S. livestock demand to be robust when growers harvest the 2004 U.S. soybean crop. It is not in U.S. growers’ interests to choke off this livestock demand in the short-term, or to encourage livestock operations to locate offshore in the long-term, via ill-considered import restrictions that aren’t supported by science.”
Last year, ASA worked with APHIS to require that Brazilian soybean meal imported into Wilmington, N.C., had been processed, heat-treated, and handled in a manner that eliminates the possibility of introducing soybean rust spores. There are reports that several shipments of soybean meal are scheduled for delivery later this year.
“The safety of importing commodity soybean remains much less clear than for properly handled soybean meal,” Heck said. “ASA has raised many questions on this issue to make sure APHIS scientists are looking at all the potential risks and pulling together as much scientific knowledge as is necessary to protect the U.S. soybean industry.”
ASA said commodity soybean grown in Canada could be safely imported into the United States since soybean rust is not present in North America.
There is the potential, however, for a natural introduction of soybean rust in the United States from spores being carried on wind currents or storms from West Africa or northern South America and the Caribbean.
ASA continues to lobby for increased federal funds for research into rust-resistant soybean plants.