China’s approval of imports of a DowDuPont Inc. genetically modified soybean puts rival Bayer AG on the defensive, investors and analysts said, as U.S. farmers will have a new choice when planting their most valuable agricultural export.
Reuters reports Bayer-owned Monsanto has long dominated the $40 billion U.S. soybean market. The market has opened up, though, as Monsanto’s Roundup Ready line of seeds - engineered to tolerate the weed killer glyphosate - has lost effectiveness as weeds develop tolerance to the chemical.
China cleared the way for U.S. farmers to eventually plant DowDuPont’s Enlist E3 soybeans, which can resist three herbicides, by approving imports of the crop on Tuesday.
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