Monsanto joint venture at odds with Indian seed companies

Monsanto Co., through a joint venture, asked the Bombay High Court to force payment from nine seed companies in India refusing to pay the agrochemical company for using its technology.

Mahcyo Monsanto Biotech, an India-based joint venture half-owned by Creve Coeur-based Monsanto, claims the companies owe $65 million in unpaid royalties for Bollgard – a cottonseed gene resistant to bollworms.

MMB warned the dispute might discourage Monsanto from introducing new seeds to the Indian market.

According to the Financial Times, the companies sell nearly 60 percent of cottonseed in India, and the nation has become the world’s largest cotton exporter – after the U.S. – since Monsanto introduced the gene there in 2002.
 
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