Wednesday June 10, 5:05 am Eastern Time
Monsanto cuts Australia INGARD Cotton price
SYDNEY, June 10 (Reuters) - Monsanto Co unit
Monsanto Australia Ltd has
bowed to pressure from the Australian cotton industry and has cut its price
for transgenic INGARD Cotton.
Monsanto had reduced INGARD Cotton's price to A$155 a hectare from the A$210
charged in 1997/98, the Australian Cotton Industry Council (ACIC) said on
Wednesday.
The cotton group, which said it had been conducting extensive negotiations
with Monsanto Australia over the past few months, described the price cut as
a ``significant reduction.''
The new price represented a ``more realistic commercial arrangement,'' ACIC
said in a statement.
``(This) is a step in the right direction and a significant move towards
providing growers with better value for money,'' ACIC chairman Peter Corish
said in the statement.
The new deal was a direct result of the ACIC pesticides committee's
negotiations with Monsanto over the need to provide growers with continued
access to the technology while ensuring that the price of INGARD Cotton gave
value for money, he said.
``ACIC successfully argued that growers were prepared to trade off the value
guarantee which has been in place for the last two seasons for a lower
invoice price,'' Corish said.
"There will be no value guarantee in 1998/99."
Corish welcomed Monsanto's interest in working more closely with the
Australian cotton industry.
There had been ``mixed results'' from use of INGARD Cotton over the past two
seasons, he also said.
However the industry remained totally committed to the technology and
recognised its importance to the future sustainability of Australian cotton,
he said.
INGARD Cotton is a biological pesticide produced by genetically-engineered
plants developed by Monsanto.
INGARD Cotton's price in Australia -- more than in the U.S. -- has been a
major issue in the Australian industry since its introduction about two
years ago.
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