Monsanto to Boost Corn Market Share on Argentine Crop

Monsanto Co., the world’s largest seed company, expects to boost its market share of corn seeds in Argentina on forecasts that farmers will plant a record crop.

Monsanto, based in St. Louis, will likely take 52 percent of the market for corn seeds this year, up from 50 percent last year, Pablo Ogallar, the company’s head of marketing in Argentina, said today in an interview. An increase in the crop size from a year ago also means total sales will climb, he said.

Argentina, the world’s second-largest corn exporter after the U.S., will grow a record 26 million tons of the grain in the 2010-2011 season, according to the Agricultural Ministry. This year’s harvest was about 22 million tons, matching a previous record that Argentine farmers had in the 2007-2008 season.

The final crop size this season “will depend on availability of seeds because companies expected an increase in planting, but not this big,” Ogallar said. More corn is being planted than originally forecast because of high global prices of the grain, which reached a two-year high last week, and good weather conditions, he said.

Corn futures for December delivery rose 16 cents, or 2.9 percent, to $5.62 a bushel at 10:40 a.m. on the Chicago Board of Trade. On Oct. 13, the price reached $5.88, the highest level for a most-active contract since August 2008.

Regional Revenue

Monsanto’s corn business in Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile and Bolivia represented about $400 million in sales in the 2009-2010 season, about 75 percent of its total regional revenue of about $650 million, according to Ogallar. Argentina represents about 80 percent of the unit’s sales, he said.

The South American business accounts for about 8 percent ofMonsanto--1.htm"> Monsanto’s global corn seed sales.Monsanto does not sell soybean seeds in Argentina, the world’s third-largest producer.

Monsanto gained 46 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $57.76 in New York Stock Exchange Composite trading at 1:44 p.m. local time.