In an interesting twist in the Syngenta Viptera corn controversy, the agricultural company is now warning the nation of the slow growth of genetically modified (GMO) seeds. In particular, Syngenta is warning that the GMO seed market is slowing down due to the massive success of biotech seeds mogul, Monsanto.

The Swiss company has unveiled a $45 billion takeover offer, stating that the GMO crops were slowly reaching their peak in saturation levels, and is being slowed in different areas like Europe, Japan, and Russia.

However, GMO seed is still popular in other regions of the world; it is important to note that over 90% of GMO corn, canola, cotton and soybeans are grown in the United States. Additionally, GMO technology takes up more than 80% of Argentine and Brazilian corn markets, with a 93% share in Brazil and 100% in Argentina.

Overview of Syngenta Corn Concerns

Despite the GMO seed markets being allegedly dead in some countries, Syngenta states that its profits would double in the next five years. This is mainly due to China’s latent approval of Syngenta’s Viptera MIR162 corn seed; this GMO corn seed has been licensed to rivaling agricultural companies such as Monsanto.

Previously, the MIR162 strain had been rejected by Chinese export officials after the country tried to adopt a more organic lifestyle. The MIR162 Viptera GMO corn strain was meant to make the corn more resistant to corn pests, like black cut worms. However, major problems arose in the United States when Syngenta reportedly sold the Viptera corn prematurely before finalizing China Viptera approval.

As mentioned previously, Syngenta’s corn initial rejection by China had come as a surprise to Syngenta as they had already sold the GMO corn seed to farmers. This is because the MIR162 Viptera corn strain had already been approved by the Brazilian and Argentinean governments.

However, when China had rejected the Viptera corn in 2013, the American corn market took a massive hit. China was the third largest imported of corn for the United States, buying 2.5 million tons per year. After the rejection of the Viptera corn, the sales went down by 85% to 375,000.

Despite being at the center of controversy, Syngenta has managed to bounce back from the public outcry; the company has had to face major allegations of false advertising and concealing information. Syngenta is the world’s largest agrichemicals company, and has recently revealed that nine of their products could potentially total more than $3.6 billion a year.

Additionally, combined with the fact that GMO seeds have been becoming less preferred over the years, when compared with organic, Syngenta warns that the GMO seed market is steadily slowing. While experts can only predict of what will come for the GMO industry, it is still likely that GMO strains will be around for a long time.