Alellyx and CanaVialis announce technological partnership with Monsanto
Press Release, 05/29/2007

Alellyx and CanaVialis, companies controlled by Votorantim Novos Negócios, and Monsanto signed a wide-ranging agreement to collaborate in the exchange of technologies of interest to the two companies.

“This technological partnership will allow Alellyx and CanaVialis to make available to the sugar/alcohol industry technologies developed by Monsanto. Furthermore, it makes it possible for Monsanto to use technologies developed by our companies,” stated Fernando Reinach, Executive Director of Votorantim Novos Negócios.

The first products resulting from this agreement will be varieties of sugar cane that resist the attack of insects and herbicide-tolerant varieties. These technologies will allow clients of CanaVialis to increase the productivity of their sugar cane fields and lower their production costs.

“We believe that in the coming years the efforts put forth by this partnership could benefit sugar cane producers in regions where weeds and insect plagues make handling and production difficult. Besides farmers, the environment will also benefit, since our herbicide tolerance technologies and resistance to insect plagues contribute to reducing the use of agricultural chemicals and greenhouse gas emissions, as the use of machines in the fields is reduced,” stated Alfonso Alba, President of Monsanto Brasil.

Alellyx, which is a company working with applied genomics, was founded by Brazilian scientists who sequenced the sugar cane genome and the first pathogenic plant (Xylella fastidiosa). CanaVialis was created by geneticists who developed a large part of the varieties of sugar cane planted in Brazil, today, and they are developing new varieties of sugar cane via classic genetic methods. CanaVialis has contracts to supply varieties to over 40 mills, representing approximately one million hectares of land.

Currently, Alellyx and CanaVialis are at an advanced stage of development of sugar cane varieties that have a high sucrose content and are adapted to new agricultural frontiers.

According to Reinach, “because of the agreement, CanaVialis will reinforce its technology portfolio, which will assist the Nation in meeting the demand for sugar and ethanol in the medium and long run. The herbicides with tolerance technologies based on glyphosate, and ive resistance to insect plagues, have been sold in Brazil for soy beans and cotton, respectively. in the future, sugar cane planters will also benefit from these technologies.”

Brazilian Sugar Cane Production

Brazil is the world’s biggest sugar cane grower, with an annual production of around 500 million tons of sugar and 18 billion liters of ethanol. At the present time, 50% of Brazil’s sugar cane is used to produce sugar, and 50% for ethanol.

About Alellyx and CanaVialis

Alellyx and CanaVialis are companies controlled by Votorantim Novos Negócios (VNN) and were created over four years ago. They now have a portfolio of technological solutions specifically for sugar cane, orange, and eucalyptus production. These technologies may be used with other crops, like corn and soy beans.

About Votorantim

Votorantim is one of the largest private industrial conglomerates in Brazil. It was founded in 1918, and has cement and concrete, mining and metals, pulp and paper, chemical, and energy businesses, as well as involvement in the financial sector. Information technology, services, bioinformatics, and biotechnology are the areas in which portfolio companies of Votorantim Novos Negócios are involved.

About Monsanto

Monsanto has been in Brazil for 56 years, and generates around 1,800 direct jobs and 7,000 indirect, while investing about R$ 3 million per year in actions dedicated to community welfare and environmental protection. Furthermore, it invested over one billion dollars, in the past 10 years, to expand and modernize its Roundup and seed industrial plants in several Brazilian states. Worldwide, the company invests around US$ 700 million/year in research.

In Brazil, Monsanto produces Roundup® herbicides, which are the best selling products in the world for weed control, because of its low toxic level and high efficiency, as well as corn, soy bean, sorghum, cotton, and vegetable seeds. The company is also a pioneer in the area of agricultural biotechnology, offering farmers in many parts of the world the possibility of opting for seeds that require less agricultural pesticides and are cheaper to produce.

Contacts

Votorantim Novos Negócios
Item Comunicação – (11) 3841-2929
Christiane Mariotto

Monsanto
CDI – (11) 3817-7926
Eleni Gritzapis