The Hindu Business Line : Monsanto GM wheat launch after solving marketing issues

MONSANTO, the US seeds major , is unlikely to launch its genetically modified (GM) wheat commercially until its "marketing problems" are solved, a company official has said.

"We have got Roundup Ready wheat ready for commercial launch but have put it on the shelves, as we found there would be problems in marketing it," Dr Eric S. Sachs, Head of Monsanto's Scientific Affairs, told Business Line.

Monsanto's GM wheat has properties that will protect the crop from being affected by the application of Roundup Ready herbicide to kill weeds on the farms. Traditional crops have been affected by the application of the herbicide.

"The GM wheat would have been the answer to the weeds that grow in the fields of the grain growers and led to increase in productivity," Dr Sachs said. "Farmers, in fact, are ready to sow GM wheat but the problem is with the trade, which has begun to question its commercial release," he said.

The wheat trade fears that they could face problems in the export market, since most of the countries where the US grains head to are yet to accept GM crops. Some of the large buyers of US grains such as the European Union (EU), Japan and Korea are still to accept transgenic crops.

"We hope things are not going to be the same. Some voices are being raised now in favour of GM crops. We expect the issue to move forward soon," Dr Sachs said.

One of the reasons for Monsanto's optimism is that the EU has recently approved the import of Roundup Ready corn.

"That has resulted in the area under the variety doubling to 24 million acres," he said.

Besides corn, roundup ready soya bean is also being cultivated in the US. "The roundup varieties are increasingly being grown by the US farmers," Dr Sachs said.

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