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

To: Professor Dotcomm who wrote (1848)	3/29/1999 4:52:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2539

03/29 15:09 Brazil could allow AgrEvo transgenic corn by June SAO PAULO, March 29 (Reuters) - Brazil's government is expected to approve by June the safety of genetically-modified corn produced by a local unit of German biotechnology joint venture AgrEvo, a company executive said on Monday. "We submitted the first petition for final clearance in December and last week we received two additional questions. I could say (safety approval will be granted) by June," said Andre Abreu, head of AgrEvo's biotechnology program in Brazil. AgrEvo is an agribusiness joint venture between Germany's Hoechst AG <HOEG.F> and Schering AG <SCHG.F>. Government safety approval would allow AgrEvo's herbicide-resistant LibertyLink corn to be regulated like any other agricultural product and clear the major hurdle for seed sales in Brazil next year, Abreu told Reuters. If successful, LibertyLink corn would be the second genetically-modified crop to win safety approval from Brazil's National Commission for Biological Security (CTNBio) for commercialization, and would then have to be registered with the Agriculture Ministry before seed sales could begin. CTNBio is charged with the approval, or rejection, of AgrEvo's application for safety approval. Brazil broke its ban on transgenic crops last September when it approved the safety of Monsanto Co's <MTC.N> Roundup Ready genetically-modified soybeans, which are still awaiting registration for seed sales expected later this year. Speaking to Reuters on the fringes of a two-day biotechnology conference, Abreu said he expected seed sales of AgrEvo corn to start next year and cover 15,000 hectares. Farmers would sow LibertyLink corn over 300,000 hectares within three to four years, he said, adding that Brazil's planted corn area currently stood at some 12 million hectares. CTNBio President Luiz Antonio Barreto de Castro said he saw no obstacles to approval of LibertyLink corn by June. "I don't see a problem personally to approve it. I think it will be resolved after the two (monthly) meetings," he said. Castro said he expected less controversy over granting safety approval to LibertyLink corn than seen over Monsanto's Roundup Ready soybeans.