2013-01-14 | permalink

Paraguay’s GE soy agriculture a good bet for investors says Monsanto

Soybean output in No. 4 global exporter Paraguay could hit a record 8.6 million tonnes this season, beating private and official forecasts, if good weather holds over the weeks ahead, seed behemoth Monsanto said on Friday. [...] ”Paraguay has not been affected by the floods but we have had plenty of rain,” Monsanto's manager for Paraguay, Fernando Giannoni, told Reuters in a telephone interview. [...] Paraguay's soy area has expanded by about 6 percent a year since 2001, Giannoni said, as cattle ranchers move out of prime farmlands to make way for industrialized production. This season's soy area is estimated by Monsanto at 2.8 million hectares, or 6.9 million acres. Despite grumbling from growers who have resisted paying Monsanto royalties for genetically modified Roundup Ready soy seeds, Giannoni said Paraguay is a good bet for investors as parties across the political spectrum want to improve output.

• Thomson Reuters, USA: Paraguay soy crop may beat official target - Monsanto