ASA Wants Monsanto Refund on Seed

February 25, 2000

The American Soybean Association says Monsanto should discontinue and refund technology fees on Roundup Ready soybean seed to help equalize seed prices between the United States and Argentina. A General Accounting Office report says U.S. growers are charged a fee of $6.50 per 50-pound bag on top of the seed price to fund technology costs the company incurs.

"U.S. soybean farmers are being charged more than twice the amount for Roundup Ready soybean seed than growers in Argentina paid last year," said ASA President Marc Curtis. According to the GAO report, a bag of Roundup Ready soybean seed sold for $12-15 in Argentina and $20-23 in the United States in 1998. Curtis said the 1999 price difference was $9 in Argentina and $12.50 in the United States.

"ASA understands that companies need to earn a return on their investment in research and development to continue investing in new traits and technologies," said Curtis. "ASA strongly objects, however, to U.S. farmers alone being required to pay for these technologies while farmers in other countries have access to the same technology without paying for it."

Monsanto told ASA that "they can’t charge the technology fee and enforce the restriction on saved seed in Argentina because Argentina’s patent and plant variety protection laws differ from U.S. laws," Curtis continued.

A BLOOMBERG NEWS report quoted Carl Casale, Monsanto vice president for North American agricultural markets, as saying the company sees no "fundamental change in strategy or actions as a result of this (the GAO report and ASA’s request). We would see dropping the tech fees and allowing replanting of seeds as treatment of the symptoms and not the problems."

The GAO report found two primary reasons for the price differences: greater control over patented seed technology in the United States and extensive black market sales of soybean seeds in Argentina. U.S. farmers are not allowed to replant Roundup Ready seeds; in Argentina this is not the case, according to GAO.

About 25-50% of soybean seeds grown in Argentina are sold in violation of the country’s seed law, designed to protect plant breeders’ intellectual property rights by requiring that all seeds be certified prior to sale.