December 31, 2004

 

 

Argentina Farm Group Opposes Monsanto Soy Fee

 

A third farm group in Argentina has voiced opposition to plans by Monsanto Co., a U.S. biotechnology giant, to charge Argentine exporters a licensing fee for every ton of soybeans shipped abroad, financial daily El Cronista reported Thursday.

 

St. Louis-based Monsanto wants to charge a 2% fee on the per-ton value of a shipment, eventually raising that to 3% per ton, as part of the firm's effort to collect royalties on the pervasive - and often unpaid - use of its genetically modified soybean seeds. At current prices, exporters would pay $3 to $4.50 for every ton of soy exported, starting in March 2005.

 

The Inter-Cooperative Agriculture Confederation, or Coinagro, denounced the proposed fee as "arbitrary" and "going against" the efforts of others to reach a consensus about how to ensure royalties are paid, the report said.

 

It said it was "analyzing all legal means to protect farmers" from Monsanto's proposal, according to the report.

 

Last week, Argentina's Rural Society, the country's largest and oldest farm group, said it too would take legal action to defend the rights of farmers. It has said royalties should be paid, but not as a licensing fee on the sale of grains.

 

The Argentine Agrarian Federation, another powerful farm group, also opposes Monsanto's proposal.

 

On Jan. 14, 2005, the Agriculture Secretariat plans to hold a meeting with Monsanto and these and other farm groups to discuss the issue.

 

Monsanto already uses a system similar to the one proposed for Argentina in Brazil and Paraguay, where exporters pay $3.50 and $3 per metric ton, respectively, for the right to export soybeans derived from genetically modified seed. The fees are expected to double next year, according to Monsanto.

 

Around 95% of Argentina's soybeans are genetically modified, and most farmers use Monsanto-made seeds. Those seeds were designed to make soybean crops compatible with another Monsanto product, Roundup herbicide, which kills weeds and other plants. By reducing problems caused by weeds, farmers have boosted crop yields, helping increase soybean production to 34.8 million tons in 2002-03 from just 11 million in 1996, when the seeds were first introduced in Argentina.

 

Monsanto struggles to collect royalties on the seeds because they can be used year after year by farmers who pay for them just once. The company stopped selling the seeds in January, saying it was no longer profitable.