A main beneficiary of the growing popularity of gene-modified crops is
Monsanto, an American seed and herbicide company that has a market monopoly
on several key crops.
Monsanto's influence in the GM market is unmatched. About 80 percent
of corn and cotton and nearly all soybean harvested in the United States in
2007 came from its seed. Brazil and Argentina are other big customers, and
farmers in Asian countries are paying more attention to its products, said
Brett Begemann, the executive vice president in charge of the firm's global
business.

``The Asian market brings Monsanto a mixture of exciting and dynamic
growth opportunities,'' he said in an e-mail to The Korea Times. ``In the
Asian market, we have biotech crops production countries like Australia,
India, China and the Philippines, biotech grains importing countries
including Korea, Japan, China and Taiwan, and other potential countries that
are interested in growing such technologies in the future like Pakistan and
Vietnam.''

The Missouri-based firm's gross profit almost doubled to $4.28 billion
between 2004 and 2007. And it is expected to double again by 2012. Buoyed by
robust growth, its stock price rose by 115 percent in 2007.

The successes did not come without efforts. According to Begemann, who
was born and grew up on a Missouri farm, Monsanto invested more than $900
million in research and development focused on discovering new
higher-yielding seeds that are more resistant to insects and weeds. It has
more than 250 breeders on staff working at dozens of breeding research
centers worldwide, strategically focused on four crops: corn, cotton,
soybean, and canola.

In the case of rice ? the staple crop of East Asians ? there is no
immediate plan to develop GM products, Beggemann says. ``The seed market for
rice has a history of not rewarding innovative research as demonstrated by
low seed prices and saved seed. In the future if this changes we may be more
open to considering options in regard to rice.''

Monsanto has faced severe criticism from countless environmental
groups in many nations, and in some cases from farmers as well. Concerns
over the safety of mutant crops were one reason that the firm is disliked.
But Monsanto suspects that some countries are using the negative publicity
of GMO as a non-tariff barrier protect local seed producers.

Most recently, the French government banned the cultivation of
Monsanto's GM corn from the U.S. agribusiness giant Monsanto, on grounds
that the safety of its cultivation was uncertain. The decision was welcomed
by environmentalists but sparked a cynical response from the company.

``We believe there is no scientific or legal basis whatsoever for
France's ban on Monsanto's biotech corn,'' Begemann said. ``The farmer is
really the one who loses in this situation. Over the last several years,
French farmers have seen for themselves the economic, agronomic and
environmental benefits of growing biotech corn? Monsanto will continue to
support our farmer customers' right to choose approved and safe
technologies.''
[www.koreatimes.co.kr]