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FM AMCONSUL CHIANG MAI
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RUEHCHI/AMCONSUL CHIANG MAI 0614

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CHIANG MAI 000155 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON ETRD EAGR TBIO TH XC SF XM
SUBJECT: U.S. AGROBUSINESS FIRM HINGES NORTHERN THAILAND INVESTMENT 
PLANS ON GMO APPROVAL 
 
REF: BANGKOK 4513 
 
CHIANG MAI 00000155  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
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Summary 
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¶1.  The U.S. agrobusiness firm Monsanto finds northern Thailand 
an advantageous location for low-cost production of hybrid corn 
seeds for domestic and export markets.  Monsanto is poised to 
make significant new investment here if the Thai Government 
lifts its moratorium on biotech crop field trials - an outcome 
for which Monsanto is vigorously lobbying.  Without such a move, 
Monsanto fears Thailand could lose its competitive edge in corn 
seed production to regional rivals that are moving more quickly 
toward genetically modified (GMO) crop production.  End Summary. 
 
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Indochina Intersection 
--------------------------- 
 
¶2.  CG recently traveled to Phitsanulok (pop. 84,000), the 
capital of Thailand's lower northern province of the same name. 
The city sits astride Southeast Asia's two major international 
land routes:  the East-West Danang-Rangoon corridor, and the 
North-South corridor linking southern China's Yunnan province to 
Bangkok and onward to Singapore.  Civic and business leaders 
seek to exploit this strategic location by marketing Phitsanulok 
as the "Indochina Intersection."  The centerpiece of their plan 
is to attract investment for building a distribution/logistics 
center in the next five to ten years, local Chamber of Commerce 
officials told us. 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
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U.S. Firm Builds Network of Small Thai Corn Farmers 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
------- 
 
¶3.  One investor that has already taken advantage of 
Phitsanulok's location - in this case, its proximity both to 
Thailand's northern corn belt and to Bangkok, only 230 miles 
away - is the U.S. agrobusiness/biotechnology firm Monsanto. 
Monsanto Seeds (Thailand) Limited develops and produces hybrid 
corn seeds for both domestic and international markets.  Its 
state-of-the-art research center in Phitsanulok develops 
high-yield maize hybrids that are resistant to drought, 
herbicide, and insecticide. 
 
¶4.  Located near the heart of the northern corn belt, Monsanto 
distributes its hybrid corn seeds to a network of 6,000 to 8,000 
small farmers, who then grow them in large quantities that 
Monsanto buys back for sale in Thailand and abroad.  According 
to Phitsanulok plant director Luis Silva, in the last three 
years Monsanto has paid out USD 17 million to its network of 
growers, and anticipates paying another 8 to 10 million in 2008. 
 The bulk of the growers are small farmers with land holdings 
for four acres or less in the northern provinces of Chiang Mai, 
Lampang, Phrae, and Uttaradit. 
 
----------------------- 
Phitsanulok to Peru 
----------------------- 
 
¶5.  Domestically, Monsanto has formed a joint venture with 
Thailand's CP (Charoen Pokaphan) Corporation, Silva said. 
Together they hold nearly two-thirds of the domestic seed corn 
market (Monsanto at 37% plus CP at 28%).  Hybrid corn seeds 
processed by Monsanto in Phitsanulok are also exported abroad to 
countries in South and Southeast Asia.  In addition, CG saw huge 
stacks of seeds labeled for export to Peru.  Silva noted that 
Monsanto can export seed corn to Peru more cheaply from Thailand 
than from its plants in Argentina and Brazil.  This is because 
Thai production costs are so low, due to:  the efficiency of 
Thai growers; northern Thailand's ideal climate for corn; and 
the country's excellent transportation infrastructure for 
getting product from northern Thai growers to Phitsanulok for 
processing, then onward to Bangkok and nearby ports. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
Cautious Toward China Due to IPR Concerns 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
¶6.  Monsanto does not export hybrid corn seed to China, Silva 
told us, due to concerns about weaknesses in Chinese IPR 
protection.  Monsanto is interested in cracking the China 
market, however, and is negotiating with Chinese officials for 
greater product copyright protection.  In the meantime, Monsanto 
 
CHIANG MAI 00000155  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
has established a joint venture in southern China that is 
developing its own hybrid seed corn (instead of producing - and 
then potentially copying -- Monsanto-developed strains). 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
Investment Plans Hinge on GMO Approval 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶7.  For Monsanto, the big money - and thus potential big 
investment - hinges on whether the Royal Thai Government (RTG) 
lifts its moratorium on biotech crop field trials (Reftel). 
According to Silva, Monsanto envisions Thailand as its regional 
base for corn seed export, if and when the RTG permits 
production of genetically modified organisms (GMO).  Should the 
RTG take this step, Monsanto is poised immediately to invest USD 
10 million to expand significantly the production capacity of 
its Phitsanulok plant.  This figure would boost the plant's 
capital asset value by over 80%, and is more than triple the 
amount of new capital investment made by Monsanto in Phitsanulok 
in the last three years. 
 
¶8.  Northern Thailand's strong competitive advantage in corn 
seed production is the reason for Monsanto's focus on the GMO 
issue here, Silva said.  The region's climate, transport 
infrastructure, and efficient farmers make it better suited for 
large-scale production than other Southeast Asian countries 
where Monsanto produced corn seed; i.e., the Philippines, 
Vietnam, and Indonesia.  Although the Philippines currently 
permits biotech crops, Monsanto has found it cheaper to sell GMO 
corn seeds from its facilities in South Africa and Argentina, 
because of poor quality control among its Filipino growers. 
This would not be the case if biotech production could begin in 
Thailand.  Monsanto believes it could export GMO corn seeds from 
Thailand to markets as far away (and as lucrative) as the U.S., 
Brazil, and Argentina. 
 
¶9.  Monsanto's Bangkok office has been lobbying the RTG 
vigorously to lift its moratorium on biotech crops field trials, 
Silva said.  In the absence of such a move, Monsanto believes 
Thailand could lose its competitive edge in corn seed production 
to regional rivals that are moving more quickly toward GMO 
production, such as China, Indonesia, and Vietnam.  Silva 
expressed cautious optimism that the civilian government 
expected to take office after elections planned for this 
December might lift the moratorium.  He claimed many RTG 
officials recognize the advantages of GMO crops, which require 
less insecticide, fertilizer, and water, and are capable of 
speedier development into improved strains.  They also 
reportedly share Monsanto's view that environmental NGOs are 
exaggerating fears that GMO crops will "contaminate" traditional 
crops. 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
Recruiting Challenges in "The Phits" 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶10.  Monsanto's Phitsanulok plant has 100 full-time 
manufacturing employees, and surges to as high as 350 workers 
during peak production.  The plant's research and development 
facility employs about another 40 full-time workers.  All 
employees are Thai except for Silva, a Brazilian.  Silva told us 
that, although it was not difficult to find good Thai employees, 
filling the top professional slots was a challenge because the 
country's best and brightest prefer to live and work in Bangkok 
over Phitsanulok, despite incentive pay offers from Monsanto. 
To strengthen local recruitment, Monsanto has launched an 
internship program with engineering and agriculture students at 
Phitsanulok's Naresuan University.  This year Monsanto has six 
such interns working four-month stints. 
 
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Comment 
----------- 
 
¶11.  Monsanto is comfortably established in Phitsanulok and 
should continue to do well in sales of hybrid corn seeds within 
the Thai and regional Southeast Asian markets.  But for Thailand 
to become a significant player with worldwide reach and staying 
power in the global corn seed market - and Monsanto is bullish 
on this potential -- the RTG will have to move forward and 
permit GMO production. 
MORROW