October 1, 2007

 

Monsanto sees GM seeds use rising in India

 

 

Monsanto, the world's largest seed producer, said its corn seeds may increase its market share outside the US to as much as 2 percent due to demand for higher-yielding crops.

 

Gains in corn-seed share will continue through the end of the decade in Europe, South Africa, Argentina and India, St Louis-based Monsanto said on Thursday (September 27). Monsanto plans to stabilise corn-seed share in Brazil after dropping its market chunk to 30 percent from 35 percent.

 

This month's purchase of Agroeste Sementes is expected to boost Monsanto's Brazil share to 40 percent. Farmers outside the US planted 95 million acres with Monsanto seeds modified to resist bugs and tolerate weed killer.

 

The market for biotech seeds outside the US could reach 270 million acres on sales of corn in Brazil, Argentina and Europe, insect-resistant cotton in India and weed killer-tolerant soy in Brazil, according Monsanto vice president Brett Begemmann.

 

Indian farmers this year increased purchases of Monsanto's insect-protected cotton to 13 million acres from 8.3 million, making India the biggest user of the product, Begemann said.

 

Sales of insect-resistant cotton seed may reach 20 million acres in the nation by 2010, about the time when the technology may be combined with weed-killer resistance, he said.

 

Farmers in Brazil planted half their soy fields with seeds resistant to Monsanto's Roundup weed killer, more than the company's previous estimate of 45 percent, Begemann said. So-called Roundup Ready seeds may account for 95 percent of Brazil's soy market by 2010, he said.

 

Monsanto has about 13 percent of corn seed sales in the European Union, adding about 1 percentage point a year, on demand for conventional seeds, Begemann said. Gains of as much as 2 percentage points will continue, he said.

 

Europe has been slow to embrace gene-modified seeds amid concerns about possible effects on human health and the environment. Eight EU countries planted 100,000 hectares (247,000 acres) of Monsanto's insect-resistant corn this year, and sales are poised to accelerate as more farmers ask governments to allow the higher yielding seeds, he said.

 

France has banned all pesticides used to kill the corn-borer insect, increasing the chances that Monsanto's insect-resistant corn will be sown.