Syngenta has reached a settlement with farmers involved in lawsuits over the launch of Syngenta’s Agrisure Viptera and Agrisure Duracade corn traits. The lawsuits alleged Syngenta’s release of traits unapproved in China led the nation to reject U.S. corn shipments and pushed corn prices lower. The settlement is estimated to be close to $1.5 billion, according to Reuters. The settlement …
China Approves More GMO Crops
China’s Ministry of Agriculture announced it has approved two more genetically modified crops for import into the country. A Reuters article says it’s the second move in the past month to expand access to biotech seeds as a part of Beijing’s 100-day trade talks with Washington. The Ministry approved Syngenta’s 5307 insecticide-resistant corn sold under the Agrisure Duricade brand. It …
Syngenta Announces Goals Following Merger with ChemChina
Syngenta is striving to strengthen its leadership position in crop protection and to become an ambitious number three in the agriculture seeds sector. In a news release this week, the company announced its priorities now that the takeover deal by ChemChina is complete. The company aims to profitably grow market share through organic growth and collaborations and is considering targeted …
Syngenta Ordered to Pay Farmers Over $200 Million
A federal jury has ordered Swiss giant Syngenta to pay $217.7 million to Kansas farmers after a verdict was announced this week at a trial in Kansas City. The class action lawsuit was brought because of the Viptera line of corn seed Syngenta began selling to farmers in 2011. At the time, Syngenta hadn’t received Chinese approval of the trait …
Syngenta, BASF, Seeking to Purchase Bayer’s LibertyLink Business
BASF and Syngenta are among the bidders to purchase Bayer’s LibertyLink business. Bloomberg Business News reports the two companies have submitted bids to buy the LibertyLink business that Bayer is required to sell to get regulatory approval for its $66 billion takeover of Monsanto. Representatives for BASF, Syngenta and Bayer declined to comment to Bloomberg. However, executives of BASF and …
ChemChina Secures Shareholder Approval of Syngenta Takeover
State-owned ChemChina has secured its takeover of Syngenta after more than 80 percent of Syngenta shareholders approved the acquisition. The Financial Times reports 80.7 percent of shares had been tendered by the end of the offer period on Thursday evening, above the 67 percent minimum required for the deal to go ahead. The $43 billion deal, announced more than a …
Minnesota Court Delays Syngenta Lawsuit Hearing
The Associated Press reports that the first of literally tens of thousands of lawsuits against Syngenta has been delayed until July. The suits accuse the Swiss agribusiness company of introducing a genetically engineered corn variety before China had approved it for imports, thereby causing farmers economic harm. The case was supposed to go to trial last week in a Minnesota …
NFU Calls on FTC to Oppose ChemChina Acquisition of Syngenta
Continuing a long tradition of advocating for competitive marketplaces for family farmers and ranchers, National Farmers Union (NFU) urged the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to oppose the proposed China National Chemical Corp’s (ChemChina) acquisition of Syngenta AG. In public comments to FTC Secretary Donald S. Clark, NFU President Roger Johnson asserted that the deal further consolidates the highly globalized agricultural …
Syngenta Corn Lawsuits Underway
The first of several lawsuits filed against Syngenta is underway. Syngenta is facing dozens of lawsuits that claim a move by the company depressed corn prices in 2013. The farmers involved claim Syngenta’s selling of a corn trait that was not approved to export to China, and found in shipments of U.S. corn to China, depressed U.S. corn prices and …
Chinese Authority Approves ChemChina-Syngenta Deal
The ChemChina takeover of Syngenta continues to march through the approval process this month as China has now green-lighted the deal. The acquisition received approval from the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China, according to Syngenta. The approval from China follows approval from Mexico earlier this week, and approval with conditions by the European Union and the …