Soybean traders such as ADM, Bunge, Cargill, and Louis Dreyfus have been in negotiations with Monsanto for six months to settle a dispute concerning the collection of royalties. Monsanto wants commodity firms to be responsible for farmers paying the fees due for Monsanto’s new South American seed Intacta RR 2 Pro, however the buyers do not feel it is their legal responsibility to collect royalties. Brazil exports more than half of its annual soy harvest and concerns are being raised about the fallout if there is a problem with a royalty payment on a soy cargo that has already shipped. These concerns, if not resolved, could make commodity buyers reluctant to buy from South American soybean producers who have planted fields with the Intacta RR 2 Pro seed. The unstable situation is leaving producers worried as the Intacta seed will likely account for 25% of the crop that will be planted in September compared to just 4% of the 2013/14 crop, and farmers are already purchasing seed for next year.
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