RT, 17 March 2016

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© Amit Dave / Reuters

Source: https://www.rt.com/news/335879-monsanto-greed-india-gm-cotton/

India said that US agricultural biotechnology corporation Monsanto is free to leave the Indian market and lose its 90 percent dominance if it does not want to accept the government-imposed price and royalty cuts for its genetically modified cotton seeds.

“It’s now upon Monsanto to decide whether they want to accept this rate or not,” Sanjeev Kumar Balyan, the junior agriculture minister, told Reuters. “If they don’t find it feasible, then they are free to take a call. The greed (of charging) a premium has to end.”

Last Wednesday, India cut the royalties paid by local firms for Monsanto’s seeds by nearly 70 percent, also capping GM cotton seed prices at 800 rupees ($11.9) for a packet of 400 grams, starting in April 2017. Last year the seeds were sold at prices ranging from 830 rupees ($12.4) to 1,100 rupees ($16.4) in different parts of the country.

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