Monsanto Intacta soy patent may take months: Argentina

Bloomberg

Monsanto Co. may have to wait months to gain approval in Argentina for a patent on its latest genetically modified soybean technology, another setback for the world’s largest seed company in its years-long quest to collect royalty payments from the country’s farmers.
Monsanto’s Intacta soybean seed still lacks full patent approval from the Argentine regulator, Argentina’s Science and Technology Minister Lino Baranao said .
“The Monsanto issue is very distinctive as Argentina still hasn’t granted the company a patent for Intacta,” Baranao said in a telephone interview from Rome. “A final decision must surface soon but I am not sure this will happen for the 2015-16 crop. We have asked the Institute for Property Rights to speed up the process, but it may take months.”
Monsanto has two valid patents in Argentina for Intacta and four more are pending, Monsanto spokeswoman Christi Dixon said in an e-mailed statement.
The St. Louis-based company hasn’t seen a dime from royalties on its previous seed resistant to glyphosate as Argentine farmers generally avoid paying royalties by using seeds from previous harvests. Monsanto was expecting to collect royalties for about 15 percent of this season’s Argentine soybean crop, which is forecast to be 56 million metric tons by the Buenos Aires Grains Exchange.

Seed Analysis
Argentina issued a resolution on April 15 that gives the Agriculture Ministry control of the analysis of seeds in the country, a move that would render obsolete Monsanto’s network of laboratories. To enforce payments, the company is financing several laboratories to detect users of its modified soybeans in Argentine port export shipments.
“Argentina’s position is that the producer must pay for the use of a patented seed and the repeated use; a logical amount must be paid,” Baranao said. “However, the current conflict stems from the payment method Monsanto is trying to apply that needs to be approved by the Agriculture Ministry, and the necessity of having a patented seed, which still isn’t the case.”
Monsanto’s Intacta soybeans are modified to tolerate the application of herbicide and resist insects, offering potentially higher yields. The product was introduced three years ago and is the company’s fastest-growing biotechnology trait.
Last month Monsanto rejected Argentina’s request for more time to force farmers to pay royalties on genetically modified soybean seeds. Argentina produces 12 percent of the world’s soybean crop and is responsible for 7 percent of global exports.