Rosselkhoznadzor stops transport of GMO corn seeds from Kyrgyzstan

MOSCOW. April 25 (Interfax) - Rosselkhoznadzor stopped a shipment of corn seeds from Kyrgyzstan in which GMO seeds were discovered.

According to the service, the shipment contained 14.2 tonnes (356 sacks). In addition, there were no documents confirming the varietal and sowing qualities for it. The labels on the bags contained incomplete information.

Rosselkhoznadzor informed the Kyrgyzstan Ministry of Agriculture about this. "By the end of this week, negotiations will be held with the Kyrgyz side on the fact of the supply of GM seeds and measures will be taken to prevent such cases from occurring," the report says.

The service and the Russian law "On seed production" prohibit the import and production of GM seeds in Russia, with the exception of for research purposes. At the same time, Kyrgyzstan is a signatory to the Cartagena Protocol, which allows the import and reproduction of plant products and seeds with GMOs.

The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity is an international treaty governing the movement of living modified organisms (LMOs) resulting from the application of modern biotechnology from one country to another. The protocol was adopted on January 29, 2000 as an additional agreement to the Convention on Biological Diversity and entered into force on September 11, 2003.