June 20, 2008

Brazil's National Biosafety Commission, or CTNBio, has approved Swiss multinational seed company Syngenta's transgenic corn, a CTNBio press officer confirmed Thursday (June 19, 2008).

"Syngenta can now commercially sell its transgenic corn in Brazil," the press officer said.

Medard Schoenmaeckers, head of media relations for Syngenta in Europe, said that Syngenta's Bt11 transgenic corn, containing insecticide, is increasingly important as farmers plant more corn in Brazil. The product is already available in the US.

Syngenta joins CropScience's LibertyLink and Monsanto Co.'s (MON) Guardian brand of GM corn, which has already received approval.

Meanwhile, Syngenta remains uncertain about the future of its troubled 128-acre GMO test center in west Parana, Schoenmaeckers said.

The GMO soy and corn research lab owned by Syngenta has been dogged by protesting anti-GMO campaigners since 2006. The protesters have now left the site and the company is evaluating the damage and the future use of the site, Schoenmaeckers said.

Parana is the leading corn growing state in Brazil.