Guest writer Stuart Meikle covers the still disputed topic of genetically modified organisms and Romania's stance in this developing market. 

Let us first state that this is not an anti-genetically modified organisms article. Given the right biotechnology, at the right time in the right place, I could envisage writing an article supporting its use. The on-going debate about using herbicide resistant GM soybean in Romania is however about using the wrong technology in the wrong place and at the wrong time.

For Romania, the primary concern is not about the growing of GM soybean, it is about the marketing of soybean and its products. And it is first and foremost the marketing that should dictate the answer to the do-we-grow-it question.

I first looked into soybean in Romania 12 years ago. A review of the global, upstream-Danube and local markets for animal feeds and vegetable oils was undertaken. An assessment of local soybean production and an economic analysis of investing in soybean crushing was carried out. There was and still is the potential for Romania to be the main producer of soybeans within the European Union.

A dependence on imported soybean meal for animal feed is a major weakness within the EU agri-foods system. This is recognized and the expansion of EU vegetable-protein sources is of vital importance, not least from a food security perspective. Romanian with its soybean production potential has a vital role to play within this context.

There is not an embargo on importing GM soybean meal into the EU and its use is widespread. So why is there an issue about growing GM-soybean? There are those who argue against producing GM within the EU on environmental grounds and there are also consumers who wish buy GM-free products and to have a GM-free diet. It appears that they are so numerous that they are able to influence both food retailers and EU decision-makers.

This is where the marketing issue kicks in and from a marketing perspective alone, Romania has two choices:

First, assuming it is allowed, Romania can produce GM soybeans and, hence, soybean meal. Romania will, however, never be a globally-significant producer of soybean compared to the South Americans, it will only ever be a small producer of a global commodity. It will always be a price taker. European buyers of soybean meal have access to bulk deliveries (say 20,000 hectares worth a time) from South America so Romanian will have zero leverage in the market. Romania did once have an advantage in supplying Hungary’s significant import needs but It appears that has now been negated by Slovenia’s new role as a major entry point for soybean meal from South America to central Europe.

Second, Romania can look specifically at the EU market and it can start by asking what the consumers within its EU partners want? Do they want GM-free products and can they pay for them? Is there or will there be a premium for certified non-GM soybean, meal and oil? If so, is the premium sufficient to justify the growing of non-GM soya?

A frequent criticism of farmers is that they are not aware of the market and that they are production-orientated. Many are now very market-orientated as they have to be operate within sophisticated food-retailer supply-chains or by selling direct to the final consumer. Few farmers would deliberately set-out to produce what the market does not want. By seeking to grow GM soybeans Romania is setting out to be a ‘two-bit’ player in a global commodity market. Romania is not just ignoring the evolution of the EU food markets, it is even giving the consumer the ‘old two-fingered salute’. It seems to consider that it can live very nicely thank you without being linked to the EU consumer.

The demand for GM-free products in the EU emanates from one of the World’s highest-wealth regions. Its consumers can afford to pay premium prices to support their demands. Hence, Romanian farmers should be investigating potential GM-free sales volumes and prices. Further, the author has heard of an initiative to promote the Danube countries as the source for the EU of certified-GM-free soya. Given that many consumers in the EU wish to consume GM-free foods and that the EU market is local and accessible, is this the right time to be thinking of returning to GM soya? Is not Romania’s really-interesting market actually in diametrically the opposite direction?

For Romania, is this an opportunity to get in at the start and to be at the fore-front of an evolving EU food market? A market that Romania is best placed in the EU to take advantage of. With certified GM-free soybeans Romanian can move away from selling just another basic commodity. And by so doing there is also the opportunity for Romania’s agricultural leadership to show that it can adopt a highly market-orientated philosophy and strategy.

A defense of the position taken by pro-GM lobbyists in Romania is their claim that GM-soya is a better technology to use from a production perspective. For example, GM-soybean yields are said to be higher before the 2007 production ban. Were they? It is interesting to note that in the five-years before the ban in Romania, soybean yields in Italy were over 50 percent higher (FAO, 2012). Maybe if Romanian farmers had looked more at improving production of non-GM soybeans before the known-about ban came into effect, the ban itself would then have had less of an impact.

Can any of the pro-GM arguments stand-up against the market-orientated ones, not least when one considers that GM-soybean growing endows ‘GM-contaminated’ status on all of the produce of that land, locality, region or even country? For Romania, the GM soybean issue is a watershed. Is it going to be an EU-located food-producer growing essentially for the European Union food-consumer or is it going to be a small, globally-insignificant producer of agricultural commodities? The adopted market- or production-orientated philosophy and associated strategy will not just impact upon a few arable farmers, it will influence the whole long-term future of Romanian agriculture.

For the interested reader, I have written in more detail about growing GMO in Romania on my commentary website, Agri-Focus Romania. 

By Stuart Meikle, Guest Writer