Monsanto, the world’s biggest seed maker, is pinning its hopes on a string of “game-changing” products as its long-time moneyspinner, Roundup weed killer, comes under sustained attack from cheaper generic versions. Hugh Grant, the US company’s Scottish chairman and chief executive, said this week that the new products should help Monsanto to fulfil its promise to double 2007’s gross profit to $7.5 billion (£4.7 billion) by 2012, as it shifts its focus away from herbicides to its more profitable biotech seeds business. The two biggest new products, which have just been launched, are Roundup Ready 2 Yield soya beans — a second-generation version of Monsanto’s herbicide-tolerant soya beans, which the company expects to be planted on between 8 million and 10 million acres this year. The other is SmartStax, a line of herbicide-tolerant and pest-resistant corn, which is expected to be planted on more than 4 million acres.
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