Brazil's bio-security agency CTNBio has approved a new soyabean seed that combines technologies to make it resistant to drought and two widely used herbicides, according to a statement on Friday from the companies that created the product. Completion of the regulatory process allows the planting and harvesting of the so-called HB4 soyabean varieties in Brazil, the statement said, although commercial launch for export will require approval from importing countries.
CTNBio did not immediately reply to a request for confirmation or comment. Tropical Melhoramiento & Genetica (TMG) and Verdeca, the joint venture between Arcadia Biosciences Inc and Bioceres Crop Solutions Corp, said the approval by CTNBio will be followed by a public comment period lasting 30 days. After that, a definitive approval document will be issued, they said.
Along with the drought-resistant trait, Brazil has approved the combination of two other technologies to the same seed product: resistance to weed killers glufosinate-ammonium and glyphosate, the companies said. Luiz Gustavo Kalinowski, a sales representative at TMG in Brazil, told Reuters by telephone the new seed will be the only one in the Brazilian market that resists drought and the two weed-killers.
Approvals by soyabean importing countries are already underway the companies said. The HB4 trait has been approved in Argentina and by the US Food & Drug Administration, according to the companies. Regulatory approvals are also under consideration by the US Department of Agriculture, as well as in China, Paraguay, Bolivia and Uruguay, they said.