New York, New York
September 26, 2007
The opportunity for
Monsanto's biotech traits
outside the United States could nearly triple the 95 million
acres penetrated today, Monsanto's Executive Vice President of
Global Commercial business, Brett Begemann, will tell investors
today. Begemann will deliver his remarks as part of a
presentation at the 16th Credit Suisse Chemicals Conference held
in New York.
"We believe there is an untapped opportunity to grow our
international traits business by approximately another 175
million acres," Begemann said. "Strong global adoption of our
proven traits coupled with recent approvals paves the way for
expanded growth and sets the stage for new growth as we look to
stack and upgrade these products in the coming years."
During the presentation, Begemann will highlight how Monsanto's
global seeds and traits business is seeing strong product
adoption and discuss how this adoption serves as a growth
platform leading into the next decade. This includes:
- Corn share gains globally:
Monsanto's branded corn seed business gained market share in
2007 in Europe, Argentina, India and South Africa. Monsanto
continues to expect that its international corn seed brands
can grow at a rate of 1 to 2 share points annually through
the end of the decade.
- Agroeste acquisition
resets Brazil growth opportunity: The acquisition of the
Agroeste corn brand expands Monsanto's market share in
Brazil to 40 percent. The acquisition adds a new channel as
traits, such as YieldGard Corn Borer, are approved by
Brazilian officials.
- Roundup Ready soybean
adoption higher than previous estimates: Brazilian farmers
planted approximately 50 percent of acres to the
first-generation soy offering, a positive step towards the
95 percent penetration level the company sees marketing. The
adoption also establishes the footprint for the introduction
of second-generation technologies and stacked offerings,
expected after the turn of the decade.
- India cotton trait
opportunity is growing: Indian farmers planted the first
Bollgard trait on approximately 13 million acres, more
cotton trait acres than any other country. Bollgard II, the
second-generation of insect control was introduced in India
in 2007, and has an acreage opportunity of 15 million to 20
million acres by the end of the decade.
- Argentina corn opportunity
is growing: The recent approval of Monsanto's stacked trait
corn product sets the stage for expanded growth in the
country. The company believes the product has the potential
to be planted on 7 million acres by the end of the decade.
Begemann's presentation slides and
a simultaneous audio webcast of the presentation will be
available through the Credit Suisse conference web site today.
To access the webcast of this presentation, click here
http://w.on24.com/r.htm?e=94003&s=19&k=368352BD250FC49A4D1F7F6231109A12.
Following today's live broadcast, scheduled for 12 p.m. ET, a
replay of the webcast will be available for two weeks through
this same link. Begemann's presentation will also be archived at
the Investor Relations section of Monsanto's website at
http://www.monsanto.com/investors.
Monsanto Company is a leading global provider of
technology-based solutions and agricultural products that
improve farm productivity and food quality.
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