Posted on 12-5-2004

Monsanto Abandons GM Wheat
by Paul Brown, May 11, 2004, The Guardian

Monsanto has abandoned plans to introduce GM wheat on to the world market
despite spending seven years and hundreds of millions of dollars
developing the crop.

The decision, announced yesterday, is a major fillip for the anti-GM lobby
and follows pressure from US and Canadian farmers who feared the
introduction of GM wheat would lead to the collapse of their
billion-dollar markets in Europe and Japan.

Monsanto, the world's biggest seller of GM seeds, had looked to the
development and introduction of GM wheat to fulfil a dream of dominating
the world's bread market.

The company had proved that GM wheat increased yields by 5% to 15% but
consumer resistance to the idea of eating GM bread - particularly in
Europe - meant the biggest part of the US export market would disappear
overnight.

In yesterday's statement, Monsanto acknowledged that there was not a
sufficient market to make the introduction of its GM wheat worthwhile and
said it was concentrating on corn (maize or sweetcorn), cotton and
oilseeds such as rape, where it already has a large seed market.

Carl Casale, the executive vice-president of Monsanto, said: "As a result
of our portfolio review and dialogue with wheat industry leaders, we
recognise the business opportunities with wheat are less attractive
relative to Monsanto's other commercial priorities."

Sue Mayer from Genewatch, a GM pressure group, said: "This is amazing,
extraordinary; the company has been bullish about this great new flagship
product and insisting it would be marketed across the world. This is a
huge step down. They must have feared a terrible backlash from farmers who
would have boycotted their other products."

Although wheat is only one of the world's staple food crops, it is the
most valuable for a seed seller because it is grown in the richest regions
of the world, Europe and America, where profit margins are the greatest.

But after the boycott of GM maize and soya in Europe, wheat farmers have
feared that they would also lose markets.

For the past 10 years the EU and Japan have bought about 45% of the wheat
that the US exports. About half of the 5.5m tonnes of US wheat exports in
1999-2000 went to these two markets, according to the US department of
agriculture.

Most of the wheat for bread in Europe comes from North America, because
most European grain is not of high enough quality to make bread.

There has been resistance from US growers for some time to the
introduction of GM wheat because of fears that cross-pollination or mixing
in stores would render it unsaleable.

North Dakota failed in an attempt to introduce legislation to prevent its
introduction in 2001. But the attempt exposed the level of concern among
European importers about GM wheat.

One letter came from Julian Watson of Rank Hovis, one of the largest EU
millers. It said: "So that you are completely clear on Rank Hovis's policy
toward GM wheat: we do not want any level of such grain in our supplies
from you.

"To date, we have been able to say to our customers that GM wheat has not
yet been brought to the market. This now needs to be backed up with
preventative actions.

"You should treat this issue with the utmost gravity and priority, given
that the alarm generated by even the perception that spring wheat may
contain GM traits could be enough to jeopardise the entire export
programme to the EU."

Fearing a massive disruption in supplies and a consumer boycott of bread
if the US did introduce GM wheat, millers have been seeking alternative
wheat supplies from Australia and eastern Europe.

Pete Riley, the GM campaigner for Friends of the Earth, said: "This is a
worldwide victory for consumers and farmers."

But Monsanto made it clear it had not abandoned its dream of GM wheat
forever.

With the US World Trade Organisation case against the EU over GM still
proceeding, Monsanto is hoping that an EU boycott of GM can be declared
illegal. In the long term the company hopes "it could work with
regulators" to open doors for GM wheat.