EU APPROVES MONSANTO, BAYER GENETICALLY MODIFIED SOYABEANS

Business Recorder, July 24th 2016

CHICAGO: The European Commission on Friday approved imports of Monsanto’s Roundup Ready 2 Xtend genetically modified soyabean variety, after months of delays that had derailed the US seed giant’s product launch this spring.

The decision now clears the way for widespread planting next season and removes a hurdle for North American farmers and grain traders, who have to keep close track of unapproved biotech traits that can disrupt trade. Top importer China approved the soyabeans earlier this year.

US grain trader and processor Archer Daniels Midland Co told Reuters on Friday its elevators and processing plants will now accept the Xtend soyabean variety. Rivals Cargill Inc, Bunge Ltd and CHS Inc, which had also refused to accept the variety without EU import approval, could not be immediately reached for comment.

The EU is the second largest importer of soyabeans and its approval is not expected to have a major impact on merger talks by German suitor Bayer AG, whose sweetened $64-billion buyout offer of Monsanto was rejected last week, as it had been widely anticipated, analysts said on Friday.

“It would have been a big deal if it hadn’t been approved, but this was the expected outcome, although it took longer than anyone thought,” said Bernstein analyst Jonas Oxgaard.

Still, the approval marks a key victory for Monsanto in the wake of months of regulatory delays over this launch, and swirling controversy over whether glyphosate, the chemical in its popular Roundup herbicide, is carcinogenic.

Monsanto expects Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soyabeans, designed to tolerate applications of glyphosate and dicamba weed killers, to be planted on 15 million acres next spring and 55 million acres by 2019. The company is still waiting the US Environmental Protection Agency to approve dicamba use on crops.

The European Commission also approved a Bayer CropScience soyabean variety. The EU executive branch took action after EU member states failed to reach an agreement on whether to licence them.

The approval will allow these GMO soyabeans to be used in food or animal feed, but not for planting within the EU.

“Any products produced from these GMOs will be subject to the EU’s strict labelling and traceability rules,” the European Commission said in a statement.

The EU imports tens of million tonnes of GMO crops and products every year for use in animal feed.

The authorisations, which cover Monsanto’s soyabean MON 87708 x MON 89788 and soyabean MON 87705 x MON 89788 and soyabean FG 72 of Bayer’s CropScience division, will be valid for 10 years.

Monsanto shares were little changed on Friday at $106.07.—Reuters

http://epaper.brecorder.com/2016/07/24/15-page/778956-news.html