When the Korean corn processors association earlier this week solicited bids for corn, the United States was omitted from the list of eligible sellers. The Korean government has issued a recall for U.S.-made tortillas, although the manufacturer says there was no corn in the product. Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman acknowledged that StarLink is probably a cause of the export drop. On Wednesday, his department offered to start testing corn for StarLink at the request of elevators and other grain handlers. A fee will be charged for the service.
Federal regulators say there is little, if any, health risk with the corn.
It was not approved for human consumption because of questions about its potential to cause allergic reactions. After initially falling for a sixth straight session, corn futures wound up higher for the day despite lackluster export news. A late buying spree pulled the price into positive territory after investors concluded the outlook wasn't bad enough to punish the market further. Soybean prices slid, retrenching from gains earlier in the week.