May 6, 2008

Monsanto in Brazil to invest US$32 million in corn seeds

The Brazilian unit of Monsanto Co. (MON) will invest US$32 million toward GM and regular seeds for corn, a Monsanto press officer confirmed Monday (May 5, 2008).

"Our aim is to meet the domestic demand as well as export demand," local news service Estado reported Monsanto's manufacturing director Marco Guimaraes as saying.

Around two-thirds of the investment will be used to extend Monsanto's corn production capabilities at its unit in Uberlandia in Minas Gerais state, while a third will be deployed to reopen its unit in Itai in Sao Paulo state, the press officer said.

The new investment follows the US$28 million that Monsanto invested in September, Estado reported.

Brazil's National Biosafety Commission, CTNBio, gave Monsanto the green light to begin producing and selling genetically modified corn in Brazil in February.

Brazil plants corn twice a year, in the spring and again in the autumn.

Corn is the No. 2 crop in terms of acreage, trailing soy, the country's top-selling farm commodity.