Biotech Values

[DewDiligence]

Monsanto Invests $334M in Argentina Corn-Seed Plant

[As a hybrid plant, corn does not subject MON to the risk of being ripped off by replanted bootleg seed the way soybeans do, so MON has no qualms about doing corn business in Argentina. (MON does not currently sell soybeans in Argentina, but it is negotiating with the government for the IP protection it would need to do so (#msg-64084846).]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/16/snippet-idUSL1E8HG01320120616

›Fri Jun 15, 2012 8:51pm EDT

BUENOS AIRES, June 15 (Reuters) - U.S.-based seed agricultural Monsanto said it will invest $334 million in a corn seed development plant in Cordoba province, Argentina, scheduled to open in December 2013, the company said in a statement on Friday.

Argentina, the world's second-biggest corn exporter after the United States, has seen an explosion of soybean cultivation over recent years. The South American country - the No. 1 supplier of soymeal and soyoil, and the No. 3 exporter of soybeans – is hungry for better corn technology as it seeks to protect its soils by expanding crop rotation.‹