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Biotech / Medical : Monsanto Co. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Dan Spillane who wrote (1466)	3/3/1999 5:31:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 2539

Dan, I think momentum investing is the dominant investment style among many investors as well as money managers. They can hardly see beyond the next 2 quarters, not to mention 10-15 years. Thus dilution is their reason for disliking the deal or saying it's not going to happen. I expect MTC and DD top management to have more foresight and vision on the future of the ag-biotech industry, and the role their, combined-company can play, than the average investor.

To: Dan Spillane who wrote (1466)	3/3/1999 5:57:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Respond to of 2539

U.S. Proposes Test Program to Speed EU Biotech Crops Approval Bloomberg News March 3, 1999, 5:03 p.m. ET U.S. Proposes Test Program to Speed EU Biotech Crops Approval Washington, March 3 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. has proposed a pilot program to speed approval of gene-altered crops in Europe, a U.S. trade official said. Under the plan, U.S. companies would submit applications for new products to U.S. and European Union officials at the same time rather than first to U.S. regulators. Monsanto Co., Dow Chemical Co. and other companies now wait up to two years for regulatory approval in Europe of corn, cotton, soybeans and other crops, compared with nine months in the U.S. ''Our hope is, of course, to speed up the approval process in Europe through increased contacts between regulators'' on both sides of the Atlantic, James M. Murphy, U.S. trade representative for agricultural affairs, told Congress. The current process takes too long, ''it's not transparent, and it's overly politicized.'' The plan will be considered by EU science authorities on March 15. Murphy disclosed the plan before a House Agriculture subcommittee reviewing delays in European approval of bioengineered crops, amid frustration from companies with hundreds of millions of dollars at stake. Members of Congress question European motives. ''I think they are dumb like a fox,'' said Representative Thomas Ewing, Republican of Illinois. ''They don't want competition.'' Just last month, EU governments rejected an application from Monsanto to grow two types of genetically modified cotton in Europe., where public opposition to genetically modified crops is strong. It will now be up to environment ministers to make the final decision, probably at a meeting in June. Trade Impact While the U.S. has embraced biotechnology in agriculture, safety fears among European consumers mean biotechnology companies are struggling to win approval for their crops in Europe. Trade problems are increasing, because 25 percent of all U.S. corn plantings, 38 percent of soybeans and 45 percent of cotton were of gene-altered crops. Engineered to resist pests or weed-killing chemicals, the seeds can raise yields 11 percent to 25 percent. The U.S. exported less than 3 million bushels of corn to Europe last year, compared with 70 million the year before, when less of the crop was from gene-altered seeds. The National Corn Growers Association says 3 million bushels is less than one- twelth the harvest in Livingston County, Illinois. Rep. Earl Pomeroy, Democrat of North Dakota, cited cultural differences in Europe's reluctance to accept bioengineered foods. U.S. industry, he said, should use marketing tools to stress that gene-altered crops use fewer chemicals, produce more food at a lower cost and improve nutrition content. ''Trade laws provide market access,'' Pomeroy said. ''They don't provide market acceptance.'' --Roger Runningen in Washington, (202) 624-1857, with reporting