February 11, 2008

ASA welcomes approval of Monsanto's GM soy in Asian countries

The American Soy Association (ASA) is pleased that final regulatory approvals have been received in Japan, the Philippines and Taiwan for Monsanto's, Roundup Ready 2 Yield soy. (MON 89788).

US soy producers anticipate commercialisation of this new product in 2009.

"These approvals represent significant progress toward commercialization of the technology," said ASA President John Hoffman, a soy producer from Waterloo, Iowa.

Roundup Ready 2 Yield soys will offer a 7 to 11 percent yield advantage over first-generation Roundup Ready beans, while providing the same tolerance to the Roundup herbicides.

Last July, Roundup Ready 2 Yield soys completed the regulatory process in both the US and Canada. The product is currently under scientific review by the European Food Safety Authority, as well as regulatory authorities in China and other key export markets.

"More than 90 percent of the soy planted in the United States this year were biotech varieties," Hoffman said.

The next generation of biotech-enhanced soy varieties would offer important benefits ranging from healthy oil profiles to increased yields per unit of land to better weed control, he said.

"Timely overseas regulatory approvals are critical because growers around the world have rapidly adopted new biotech-enhanced seed varieties," Hoffman said. "

Monsanto is planning a controlled commercial release of its Roundup Ready 2 Yield soy technology in 2009. A full-scale launch is expected in 2010.

Biotech-enhanced varieties of herbicide tolerant soy seeds were first commercialiaed more than a decade ago and herbicide tolerant seeds have become a standard in US farmer management systems to control weeds.