Sao Paulo, Brazil
October 4, 2006
Source:
MarketWatch, Inc. via
Checkbiotech
Brazil's 2006-07 soy crop will be
at least 50% transgenic, said Amelio Dall Agnol, a researcher at
Brazil's top crop science institute,
Embrapa.
In the 2005-06 crop, some 9
million hectares of genetically modified soybeans were planted
out of a total 22 million. This season should see an additional
2 million hectares of genetically modified soy added, Agnol
said, following last years ruling by the government that
permitted GMO soy to be planted. Brazil soy growers are expected
to plant under 21 million hectares of soy in the 2006-07 crop.
"From what we hear in talks with farmers and cooperatives, all
signs are pointing to a big increase in transgenic soy," Agnol
said.
Farmers use genetically modified soybeans to control the spread
of weeds in soy fields, thus reducing herbicide costs.
Monsanto Co., makers of the only transgenic soy seeds permitted
in Brazil, said the company couldn't comment on sales volume at
this time. Monsanto's Roundup Ready soybean is used by a handful
of crop science companies in Brazil to produce varieties of
transgenic soybeans. Farmers have to pay a fee for using the
genetically modified seeds, but fee costs still come out lower
than extra investments in herbicides, Agnol said.
Farmers are currently facing one of their worst financial crises
in decades and will spend less on the 2006-07 crop, according to
consensus estimates.
Brazil is the world's No. 2 soy producer and exporter.
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