September 3, 2007

 

Brazil's Parana GMO soy crop down as herbicide prices soar

 

 

Soybean farmers in Brazil's No. 2 soy-producing state Parana have returned to planting conventional soy instead of genetically modified (GM) soy because production prices for the later have soared, local newspaper Gazeta Mercantil reported Friday (August 31).

 

GMO soy's share of the state's soy production had risen from only 10 percent for the 2005/06 crop to 43 percent last year.

 

Experts expected the GMO participation to climb even higher, reaching 90 percent for the 2007/08 crop.

 

But soaring prices for the herbicide Glyphosate have prompted farmers to return to conventional soy.

 

Prices for Glyphosate are 50 percent higher than last year, according to the newspaper.

 

Parana state agriculture experts estimate that conventional soy will have a 60 percent share of the upcoming 2007-08 crop, with GMO soy falling back to 40 percent.

 

Conventional soy has another advantage over GMO soy in that it responds better to the state's oscillating weather conditions, such as long dry periods.

 

Parana state is Brazil's second-biggest soy-producing state after the centre-western state of Mato Grosso.

 

The state's upcoming 2007-08 soy crop is expected to produce 11.99 million tonnes, up 1.6 percent from 11.82 million tonnes in 2006-07.

 

Parana state has a total soy plantation area of 3.95 million hectares.

 

Brazil is the world's No. 2 soy producer behind the US.