Bayer Gets Green Light For GMO Soy Seed Sales To Argentina
Germany's Bayer AG has received approval for its strain of genetically modified soybeans in Argentina, clearing the way for sales to one of the world's top soy producers.
Argentina approved the Liberty Link soybean technology, which involves transgenic seeds resistant to the herbicide glufosinate-ammonium, according to the company.
Bayer CropScience is now moving to obtain approval for seeds with multiple transgenic traits, generally a formality in Argentina, which is one of the world's leading supporters and producers of genetically modified agricultural goods. Liberty Link will be combined with stacked traits and launched in Argentina "in the forthcoming years," the company said in a statement.
Argentina is the world's leading exporter of soyoil and meal, and ranks third behind the U.S. and Brazil in soybean exports. Virtually all of Argentina's soybeans incorporate U.S. grain giant Monsanto Co.'s technology, which makes soybeans resistant to the herbicide glyphosate. Monsanto introduced the seeds to Argentina over a decade ago, but it failed to get a patent and has struggled to collect royalties since. Monsanto is now on a push to get farmers to voluntarily sign an agreement to pay royalties in exchange for access to the company's second generation of modified soy seeds, which it says may boost yields by 10% to 15%.
Meanwhile, Bayer is hoping to cash in on the spread of a host of weed varieties which have developed resistance to glyphosate, after years of repeated spraying across Argentina's farmlands.
"Weed resistance is evolving rapidly, driving the need for sustainable solutions like new herbicide tolerance traits, especially in soybeans," Bayer said. "The Liberty Link trait will deliver an important and effective weed management tool as an alternative to using glyphosate herbicides in genetically modified soybeans which are currently grown on 18 million hectares in Argentina."
S Africa Submits Draft Calling For Reforms To Land Distribution
South Africa's land reform needs to be amended, the country's Department for Rural Development and Land Reform said, with restrictions on foreign ownership and the recalculation of how land is valued targeted for further reform.
In a draft document called the Green Paper on Land Reform, the department said it remains a challenge to meet the post-1994 target of redistributing 30% of white-owned land to black farmers.
South Africa initially set the target to be reached within the first five years of the country's democracy. That deadline was later shifted to 2014, and then to 2025.
To do better in meeting the 30% target, the Green Paper proposed establishing a committee to recalculate land valuations, and selling land to foreigners with conditions attached.
It also said more funding is needed to make sure farms bought are productive.
The current system of land redistribution is based on a "willing buyer, willing seller" model.
Rural Development and Land Reform Minister Gugile Nkwinti said previously that farms purchased had either failed or were in decline.
Linn Group Slices Estimates For US Corn, Soybean Harvests
Linn Group, a brokerage firm, cut its outlooks for the U.S. corn and soybean harvests, predicting farmers will harvest fewer bushels this fall than they did last year.
The Chicago-based firm pegged the 2011 corn crop at 12.391 billion bushels, with an average yield of 149.1 bushels per acre. That is below the U.S. Department of Agriculture's latest estimate of 12.914 billion bushels, with an average yield of 153 bushels an acre, and the 2010 harvest of 12.447 billion bushels.
The firm estimated the soybean crop at 2.997 billion bushels, with a yield of 41 bushels per acre. The USDA last estimated the soybean crop at 3.056 billion bushels, with an average yield of 41.4 bushels an acre, down from 3.329 billion bushels in 2010.
The estimates make Linn Group the latest private firm to cut its harvest estimates due to poor weather. Earlier this month, it estimated corn output at 12.775 billion bushels, with an average yield of 152.1 bushels per acre, and soybean output at 3.148 billion bushels, with a yield of 43 bushels per acre.
"Corn development has been under pressure from the start this year, with a wet spring delaying field work, followed by flooding at critical times, then severe July heat, and finally a dry August for many key Midwest growing areas," the firm said in a note.
The USDA will update its crop forecasts Sept. 12.
China Food Prices Rose Last Week; Vegetables Led -Ministry
Food prices continued to rise in the week to Sunday, with vegetable prices increasing most sharply, the Ministry of Commerce said.
Food accounts for about a third of China's consumer price index, with price movements being closely watched as inflation in the country reaches three-year-high levels.
Posting a second straight week of gains, vegetable prices rose 6.1% compared with the previous week, according to the wholesale average of 18 types of vegetables tracked, the ministry said.
Egg prices rose 1% in the period, while edible oil prices rose 0.5%-0.6%, it said.
Pork prices, a key contributor to inflation in recent months, rose 0.3% for a third consecutive week of increases.
Preparations for the Mid-Autumn Festival in September and the National Day holidays in October are driving prices higher, though the government has warned the pork market may fall into oversupply once consumption thins after the Lunar New Year in January.
The country's hog population in July reached 461.4 million head, up 4% compared with February, the state-backed China National Grain and Oils Information Center said in a report.
Source: CME website
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