Brazil
March 17, 2006
Source:
Gazeta Mercantil via
Checkbiotech
The Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE),
Brazil's top antitrust agency, approved with restrictions an
accord among Monsanto do
Brasil, the Fundacao
Mato Grosso (FMT), which operates in agricultural research
and development, and Unisoja, which markets soya seeds.
The counselors vetoed a
contractual clause intended to guarantee exclusivity for the
transgenic gene developed by the multinational. The original
accord authorized the FMT and Unisoja to market soya seeds with
the Roundup Ready gene, patented by Monsanto.
Under this accord, the FMT and Unisoja cannot use technologies
similar to other companies. Under the accord, FMT and Unisoja
cannot develop research on soybean seeds tolerant to glyphosate
broad-spectrum herbicide.
CADE understood that the exclusivity clauses were harmful to
free competition. Despite approving the negotiation, the council
ordered the removal of three rules from the accord:
- prohibition against the
use of technology of other companies,
- research and development
of the product by the FMT and Unisoja along with other
partners, and
- permission for Monsanto to
cancel the license of anyone marketing seeds with tolerance
to glyphosate developed by other competitors.
The removal of the clauses
was recommended by the Finance Ministry's Secretariat of
Economic Surveillance (SEAE), another element in the
anti-trust system. In its opinion, the secretariat said that
Monsanto and FMT hold 38.35% of the Brazilian soybean
market. That percentage reaches 83% if the shares of Embrapa
and the Central Farm and Ranch Cooperative for Technological
and Economic Development (Coodetec), which signed similar
contracts with Monsanto.
"The accord could inhibit the investments of other
biotechnology companies in researching seeds tolerant to
glyphosate, since the biotechnology companies involved in
the operation hold almost 83% of the supply of soybean seeds
for the crop.
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Gazeta Mercantil |
