Business Weekly - Cambridge, UK

Public mistrust of genetically modified food is at the root of Monsanto’s decision to sell its Cambridge cereal seed operation, putting 125 jobs in jeopardy.

US-based GM specialist, Monsanto said that the growth expected to come from the introduction of hybrid wheat seeds, one of the principal reasons for the purchase of the business from Unilever in 1998, had failed to materialise.

The company announced that it would begin immediately seeking a buyer for all or parts of its cereal seed business.

The largest public debate ever conducted in Britain revealed widespread misgivings about GM crops last month. Hundreds of meetings were staged around the country and about 37,000 people responded to questionnaires, with well over half saying they never wanted to see GM crops grown in the UK.

Results of the Government’s farm-scale evaluation of GM crops were close to being announced at the time of going to press, with a mixed verdict on the technology anticipated. It is still far from certain that the Government will allow them to be grown.

“Nonetheless, we’ve made great progress over the past few years in realigning the cereals business to make it more competitive in a much tougher European seed market,” said Jeff Cox, Monsanto UK’s general manager.

“While our lack of success in hybrids means this is no longer a good strategic fit for Monsanto, the changes we’ve made could make it a great addition to another company’s portfolio.”

In addition to the Cambridge site, also affected are breeding stations in France, Germany and the Czech Republic. The cereal seed business is supported by sales, marketing, product development and seed production operations in the UK, and operates through agencies in major European markets.

Monsanto said it had entered into a collective consultation process with trade unions, employee representatives and all affected staff.

Proposals were also announced to reorganise Monsanto’s Northern European Region crop protection and oilseed rape business. The intention is for this business to move to another location in the Cambridge area.