Hilary Burke
Reuters via Agnet Jan. 18/04

Monsanto Co. has, according to this story, stopped selling soybean seeds in the world's No. 3 producer, because it can't make a buck due to a huge black market for the genetically modified, and that until that changes, Monsanto Argentina won't sell new-and-improved soy seeds or carry out research to develop new varieties tailored to local conditions.

The story says that the move has fueled fears that farmers will lose out on biotech advances and new seed varieties, and that other businesses may pull out of Argentina -- which has been struggling to recover from an economic collapse that sparked the world's biggest debt default in 2002.

Arturo Vierheller, a former agriculture department official, was quoted as saying, "The last thing you want to see in your country is investment in research being cut off. That undermines the future of the whole agriculture industry."

The story adds that GM soybeans have become Argentina's top crop and biggest source of foreign currency, despite opposition from consumers and environmentalists, especially in Europe, who demand more safety tests.
The European Union effectively banned the growth and importation of biotech foods and crops in 1998, although some GM soybean varieties had already been approved and can still be imported.

Federico Ovejero, a spokesman for Monsanto Argentina, was cited as saying that some 50 percent to 60 percent of all soybean seeds in Argentina are bought on the black market.