June 18, 2014
Monsanto's GM canola seed sales jump 55% in Australia
Sales of Monsanto's genetically modified canola seed (rapeseed) soared 55% in Australia, according to the report by ABC.
The US seed company sold more than 600 tonnes of GM canola seeds in Western Australia (+53%), 125 tonnes in New South Wales (+%59), and about 90 tonnes in Victoria (+72%).
Meanwhile, agricultural forecaster ABARES expects Australia's canola production to fall by 8% in 2014/15 to about 3.5 million tonnes, despite an increase of 3% in planting acreage, which totalled 2.7 million hectares.
Monsanto Australia managing director Daniel Kruithoff said that he expects GM canola to account for 20% to 25%. "What we expect over the next three to five years is to see that market share will steadily grow up to somewhere between 40% to 50% of the market place," he said.
"We understand that to use herbicide tolerant technology sustainably it needs to be used within a rotation and there are several herbicide tolerant options on the market and Roundup Ready will be used as part of that," Kruithoff added.
The EU, China, Pakistan, Japan and the United Arab Emirates are the biggest importers of Australian canola.