Monsanto undeterred as biotech wheat debate persists

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Monsanto Co. (MON.N) said it will continue to seek
regulatory approvals for the world's first genetically modified wheat
despite allegations that the controversial product could devastate
Canadian wheat exports.

Monsanto believes its bid to win deregulation of its Roundup Ready
wheat in Canada and the United States has "tremendous support," said
Monsanto spokesman Michael Doane.

The regulatory review process should answer questions and concerns
about the product's safety and efficacy, Doane said.

"People want to know it is safe. We're going to stay on course and
continue to look for those regulatory approvals," Doane said.

Doane's comments followed Tuesday's plea by the Canadian Wheat Board
for Monsanto to withdraw its application to test herbicide resistant
wheat in Canada. The CWB is one of Canada's largest exporters and is
controlled by western Canadian farmers.

The CWB said the "Roundup Ready" wheat would have a "devastating
economic impact" on Canadian farmers because foreign buyers opposed to
genetically altered foods would shun Canadian supplies.

The CWB's concerns echoed similar fears in the United States, most
recently underscored in March when a consortium of U.S. agricultural
and environmental groups filed a legal petition seeking a federal
moratorium on Monsanto's Roundup Ready wheat. But the regulatory
review is still under way.

Some think Monsanto might have regulatory approval in time to market
its biotech wheat in 2004. But customer acceptance remains a
significant hurdle.

That was underscored earlier this month when the Korea Flour Mills
Industrial Association (KOFMIA), a major U.S. wheat customer, said it
would boycott American supplies if U.S. regulators approve biotech
wheat varieties.

North American Millers' Association vice president Jim Bair said
Tuesday that concerns are so high about market disruption that
Monsanto should slow down the regulatory approval process to focus on
customer acceptance.

"In this case the market acceptance is clearly lagging behind
regulatory approval. We think those two things need to happen in
tandem," said Bair. "Trying to force it onto the market .. is merely a
recipe for chaos."

Other U.S. wheat industry leaders said that Monsanto should continue
to pursue regulatory approvals so it could release the wheat variety
in Canada and the United States simultaneously, preventing either
country from gaining an advantage in the wheat export market.

"Monsanto has assured us that they will do this as a joint effort,"
said North Dakota Grain Growers executive director Lance Hagan. "It
would be economic suicide for them to go back on that."

U.S. Wheat Associates, which markets U.S. wheat to foreign countries,
also said customer acceptance remained an obstacle to a successful
launch of Monsanto's wheat. "U.S. Wheat continues to strongly urge
Monsanto and other technology providers to ensure customer acceptance
prior to commercialization," said U.S. Wheat spokeswoman Dawn
Forsythe.




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