Monsanto Inks Soybean Royalty Deal with Brazil

St. Louis Business Journal 29mar2005

[More on Monsanto]

Monsanto Co. will receive a percentage of the sales earned on Roundup Ready soy by producers in south Brazil under a new agreement, according to published reports.

The company said Brazilian farmers who use the soy modified to withstand the Roundup herbicide will pay 1 percent of the sales earned on the crop being harvested and 2 percent of the sales of the fall crop.

Last year, soybean growers paid about 20 cents per 60-kilogram bag of soybeans to Monsanto.

Brazil is the world's second-largest grower of soybeans worldwide, behind the United States. Although growing genetically modified soybeans has been illegal until recently, farmers smuggled the seeds in from neighboring Argentina.

Last week, Brazil's president signed a new biosafety bill into law that sets up a regulatory process to approve genetically modified crops. Monsanto has been working since 1997 to legally commercialize its Roundup Ready soybeans in Brazil.

St. Louis-based Monsanto Co. (NYSE: MON) develops insect- and herbicide-resistant crops and other agricultural products.

source: http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2005/03/28/daily20.html?t=printable 3apr2005