U.S. agriculture official urges open Egypt market
RTw 20.09.97 18:41
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By Christine Hauser
CAIRO, Sept 20 (Reuter) - United States Agriculture Secretary Dan
Glickman urged Egypt on Saturday to keep its market open to
American exports and accept biotechnology, an issue which had
threatened to affect U.S. grain exports.
Egypt is a big market for the U.S. About 60 percent of its annual
five million tonnes of wheat imports is from the United States.
"What we want to make sure is that markets are open and
there are no barriers to our products," Glickman told
reporters after a meeting with Egypt's Agriculture Minister
Youssef Wali.
In response to U.S. lobbying, Egypt recently backed down from a
decree requiring imported wheat and grains to carry proof they
were not genetically engineered.
"We and the Egyptians are going to continue and perhaps
redouble our efforts to work together scientifically on genetic
modification issues," Glickman said earlier in a speech.
"It is clear there is no intention to restrict access."
Genetic alteration of crops has been a controversial issue also
between Europe and the United States, which insists such crops
are safe and require no labelling or segregation.
The United States had lobbied Egypt to relax the labelling, which
traders called a shot in the foot for a country which imports
much of the grain it consumes. Egypt imports wheat also from
France, Australia, and Argentina, as well as soybeans and corn.
The decree also banned the import of genetically engineered foods
until proven safe.
U.S. agricultural exports to Egypt hit $1.4 billion in 1996,
mostly in wheat and feedgrains. "I am well aware that Egypt
is America's number one wheat market and one of our biggest corn
customers," said Glickman.
"Like our Egyptian counterparts, we feel very strongly that
free trade must be fair, and on technical issues, sound science
must govern our decisions."
"To feed everyone in a sustainable way, agriculture must
innovate. That's why the United States has been so passionate in
the international debate on biotechnology and genetic
engineering," Glickman said.
"Biotechnology allows us to produce more crops...crops that
require less water, less pesticides, and cause less wear on
fragile soil," Glickman said. "Look outside. This is
perhaps the classic climate area where this would be
suitable."
Egypt is working to liberalise trade as part of other economic
reforms. It has lifted production restrictions, worked to end
government monopolies on production and marketing of cotton,
wheat, rice and corn, and lifted a nine year ban on imported
poultry meat, Glickman noted.
He said that Egypt has shown "resolve" in eliminating
unnecessary quality controls and streamlining customs
inspections. But Glickman said Egypt must "continue down the
path toward greater efficiency, openness, predictable
policy..."
Egypt's wheat imports are a strategic consideration in a nation
of 60 million people, for whom subsidised loaves are a staple.
Egypt is also trying to reclaim land for agriculture.
"The most important issue for national security is a full
belly. People tend not to fight when they are fed," he said.