Enlist E3 soya, marketed by DowDuPont's agriculture unit Corteva Agriscience, will eventually shake up the $40 billion US soyabean market - half of which is controlled by rival Bayer AG's Xtend brand. Developed with Iowa-based MS Technologies, Enlist E3 is the first soyabean genetically modified to withstand sprays from three popular weed chemicals - 2,4-D, glyphosate and glufosinate.
US farmers and seed sellers have been waiting for the Philippines to approve imports of Enlist E3 since China, the world's top soyabean buyer, cleared the product in January. The Philippines last year was the top buyer of processed US soyameal, used primarily to feed livestock.
"Obviously we're very excited about that and proceeding with plans to get seed in growers' hands," said David Thompson, marketing and sales director for Stine Seed, which is affiliated with MS Technologies. Biotech seed makers seek approval from importers before launching new products because countries can reject shipments of unapproved varieties.
The Philippines issued new regulations for genetically modified products such as Enlist in 2016, and the process involves input from more government officials. Some applications can take years to process. The regulatory review, along with supply constraints, will cap US plantings of Enlist E3 soyabeans this spring. Many farmers have already placed their orders for seed.
"There is some amount of seed that will be available," said Joe Merschman, president of MS Technologies and Merschman Seeds. "It's going to be a limited launch." Enlist E3 is expected to be planted on more than 10 percent of soyabean acres in the United States and Canada next year, Corteva and MS Technologies said.
The companies plan to license the product to other seed sellers and are in talks with more than 100 brands, according to a statement. US farmers are expected to grow soyabeans across 85 million acres this year, down 4.7 percent from 2018, as the U.S-China trade dispute has hurt soya prices, the US Department of Agriculture said on Thursday.