Monsanto to topple Brazil GM soy ruling


   BRAZIL: July 23, 1999

   SAO PAULO - U.S. biotechnology giant Monsanto Co.'s Brazil unit says
   it should soon topple a Brazilian court ruling that has paralysed
   company plans to launch genetically modified (GM) soybean sales this
   year.

   Monsanto's local corporate affairs director Rodrigo Lopes Almeida says
   an ongoing company appeal should see a favourable verdict by August,
   leaving ample time for seed sales ahead of this year's October
   planting.

   "Monsanto remains optimistic about planting (GM soybeans) this year,"
   Almeida told Reuters.

   "The judge said the ruling would come by August...and if it is
   positive, we are still within our time limit."

   Monsanto last year broke Brazil's historic ban on transgenic crops by
   winning full safety clearance from the government for its
   herbicide-resistant Roundup Ready soybeans.

   But the action opened a floodgate of controversy in Latin America's
   agriculture giant, where environmental groups led by Greenpeace have
   teamed up with farmers worried about losing business to
   transgenic-wary European customers. Such GM crops have been dubbed
   "Frankenstein foods" in Europe.

   Greenpeace took the matter last month to Brazil's courts, where it won
   a ruling that delayed all Roundup Ready sales until Monsanto conducted
   a detailed environmental impact study, which analysts said could take
   upwards of one year.

   Almeida, however, argues Monsanto's Roundup Ready soybeans already
   passed Brazil's rigorous screening process to win safety approval last
   year and to secure May government clearance to begin selling GM seeds
   nationwide.

   He said the company was investing all of its energies into the current
   appeal and has spent no time preparing an environmental impact study,
   in the event of an unfavourable verdict.

   "We are not working under that possibility (of losing the appeal)," he
   said. "Monsanto is confident that the decision of the judge will be
   favourable in light of the law...We adhered to all of the laws."

   Brazil, the world's largest soybean producer, is seen as a crucial
   market for Monsanto's Roundup Ready, which is altered to save farmers
   money on potent weed killers.

   Almeida said the company estimates Roundup Ready will cover half of
   Brazil's soybean crop within just three years. During the first year
   of planting, Almeida estimated the GM seeds will cover about 3 percent
   to 5 percent of total planted area.

   Story by Phil Stewart

   REUTERS NEWS SERVICE