Lupi Martins
Repórter da Agência Brasil

 - O presidente da Federação dos Trabalhadores na Agricultura do Rio Grande do Sul (Fetag), Ezídio Pinheiro, disse que ainda é muito alto o acordo acertado ontem por representantes dos produtores e da Monsanto, para o pagamento da soja transgênica. Ficou acertada a cobrança de royalties de R$ 0,60 por saca de 60 quilos, na próxima safra.

Segundo Pinheiro, embora o valor tenha baixado bastante desde o início das negociações - quando o pedido era de R$ 1,30 por saca - o valor ainda está elevado e certamente acabará sendo repassado ao consumidor. Ele disse que haverá novas tentativas de negociações, já que o ideal seria R$ 0,30 por saca. Pinheiro destacou que a cobrança não é direta, mas indireta, paga pelo exportador. O produtor terá os royalties descontados na hora de receber o pagamento.

Com uma safra superior a nove milhões de toneladas, só o Rio Grande do Sul deve pagar entre R$ 60 e R$ 70 milhões de royalties à Monsanto.

Pinheiro ressaltou, no entanto, que não é contra a cobrança de royalties. “Se não fosse assim, ninguém investiria em pesquisa. Por isso, defendemos a pesquisa e o incentivo à pesquisa”, concluiu.

Sao Paulo, Brazil
January 29, 2004

Brazil soy trade to pay Monsanto royalties

By Reese Ewing
Reuters via Checkbiotech.org

The farm sector in Brazil's Rio Grande do Sul state agreed to pay royalties to biotech seed giant Monsanto Co for the use of its genetically modified soy, the state cooperatives federation and Monsanto said on Wednesday.

This would be the first time in Brazil the farm sector agreed to pay royalties to Monsanto, which has been trying for years to collect from producers for the use of Roundup Ready-based GMO soybeans.

"There are still a few items that are being worked out," Fecoagro President Rui Polidoro Pinto said. "But the accord with Monsanto has been agreed upon -- we just have to define some of the details."

Monsanto said on Wednesday that the farm industry in Brazil's No. 3 soy state and the company had agreed that a charge of 10 reais ($3.45) to 20 reais ($6.90) a tonne would be added to the sale price of GMO soybeans in compensation for the company's research and development.

Both sides said the exact charge was still under discussion.

"When the producers sell transgenic soy to consumers, such as the crushing industry, cooperatives and exporters, the buyers will collect the charge and pay it back to Monsanto," Pinto said.

Pinto said Fecoagro - the state's cooperatives federation, Farsul - the state's farming and ranching federation and Fetag - the state's farm worker federation and other groups are signing on to the accord with Monsanto.

"This accord will only apply to those selling transgenic soybeans as of yesterday (Tuesday)," Pinto said.

The black market GMO soybeans in Brazil are based on Monsanto's Roundup Ready Soybean technology.

"It has not been decided yet how long the accord will apply, whether just this crop or whether we want to extend it into the next crop," Pinto said.

Rio Grande do Sul, which should begin harvesting in March, is set to produce 9.68 million tonnes of Brazil's 58.8 million tonne crop this season. The state accounted for 80,701 of the 82,650 officially registered producers of GMO soybeans this season, according to the Agriculture Ministry.

Analysts say 90 percent of the state soy output is GMO.

GMO beans are believed to have been originally smuggled into Brazil from Argentina where Roundup Ready soy is widely planted. Now, Brazilian farmers reproduce the GMO soy seeds -- based on Monsanto's technology -- in Brazil on the black market.

"We are interested in Monsanto's continuing to introduce new GMO technology in the state," Pinto said.

Recently, Monsanto said it would not launch new biotech crop products in Argentina because of widespread pirating of the company's soy technology and weak intellectual property laws.

"The next step now will be to complete its (the accord's) implementation with the involvement of the productive sector and ... farmers," Monsanto Brasil's president Rick Greubel said. ($1=2.895)

Copyright 2004, Reuters News Service