Monsanto jumps 7% on withdrawal of Bt cotton notification

Agriculture Ministry issued a notification capping royalty fee for new GM seeds at 10% of maximum sale price for first 5 years

Shares of Monsanto India surged over 7% after the government withdrew a notification capping royalty fee for new genetically-modified (GM) seed technology amid opposition from the crop biotech industry.

The stock jumped 6.84% to Rs 2,219.65 on BSE.

At NSE, it climbed 7.14% to Rs 2,219.90.

Amid opposition from the industry, the government yesterday withdrew a notification capping 'trait value' (equivalent to royalty or licence fee) for new GM seeds and would now seek comments from stakeholders before taking a final call.

"The notification regarding the guideline for Bt cotton technology issued on May 18 will be put in the public domain for 90 days, in the same form, for comments and suggestions of all stakeholders," an official statement said.

Biotech industry body ABLE-AG, which has members like Monsanto, Mahyco, Syngenta, DuPont Pioneer and Bayer BioScience, had opposed the government's notification, saying the decision would be a "huge blow" to innovators in agri-biotech industry.

Last week, the Agriculture Ministry issued a notification capping royalty fee for new genetically modified (GM) seeds at 10% of the maximum sale price for the first five years.