Print This PageInternational Corn Business
We were very pleased with our success in 2008 in Argentina, where we earned a six percentage-point gain. We also stemmed our losses in Brazil and held our corn share at 40 percent for the year, thanks in part to our acquisition of Brazilian corn seed company Agroeste at the beginning of the fiscal year. Going into fiscal 2009, the strong start to the Latin American season helped us sell out of our double-stack corn in Argentina and our YieldGard Corn Borer technology in Brazil. The addition of the Semillas Cristiani Burkhard corn seed business we acquired last year will bolster our business in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean in 2009 and beyond.
Brazilian corn farmer Airton Alberton (above) loads his planter for the first time with
Agroeste seeds utilizing YieldGard Corn Borer technology.
Corn — International growth opportunities are most imminent and substantial in Brazil and Argentina, where Monsanto is launching new yield-protecting trait technologies. In Argentina, Monsanto received approval this season for a double-stack trait combination, YieldGard Corn Borer with Roundup Ready Corn 2, and offered the combination on more than 1 million acres in its first year. In Brazil, Monsanto’s DEKALB, Agroceres and Agroeste branded-seed businesses received planting approval for the YieldGard Corn Borer trait and sold out of the product in its first year of availability. Brazilian corn farmers are expected to plant the technology on between 1 million to 2 million acres during the 2009 season.
