Dive Brief:
- Chinese officials have begun informing their U.S. counterparts that China will accept shipments of corn bred from Syngenta's Viptera strain, according to published reports.
- Neither the Chinese nor American governments, nor Syngenta, have issued a formal statement yet confirming the change in policy.
- The news comes just hours after Syngenta said it expected the ban to be lifted "in the near future."
Dive Insight:
Given the billions of dollars at stake in exports, lawsuits, and seed sales in the fight over Viptera, there's every reason to be cautious when news appears to break. It does, in fact, seem likely that something is about to happen. But no wise farmer, commodity trader, exporter, or regulator would say that this is a done deal just yet.