SAO PAULO - Monsanto Co, the world's largest seed company, is open to acquisitions in Brazil, where assets have become cheaper as the local currency tumbled, its top executive in the country said on Thursday.
U.S.-based Monsanto abandoned a $45 billion bid for rival Syngenta in August, but executives are still discussing whether they should try to acquire the Swiss pesticide maker or other rivals.
"If an interesting opportunity emerged in Brazil, Monsanto would certainly consider it, especially if it fits with our vision of what agriculture will be in coming years," Rodrigo Santos, chief executive of the company in Brazil, said at its year-end news conference.
A potential $130 billion merger of Dow Chemical Co and DuPont has revived talk about takeovers in the agrochemicals sector.
Brazil, the world's top soybean exporter, is Monsanto's No. 2 market behind the United States, bringing the company $1.7 billion in revenue in fiscal 2015, Santos said.
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Monsanto invested $150 million in Brazil in 2015 and Santos said investments would "continue quite high next year," including at its research station in Petrolina and seed unit in Campo Verde.
Monsanto said in October it was closing its sugar cane operations to focus on its core seeds and crop protection business in Brazil.
The area planted with Monsanto's pest-resistant Intacta RR2 Pro genetically modified soybean seeds doubled in South America in the 2015-16 crop from the previous year, Santos said.
Farmers planted 30 million acres (12 million hectares) with Intacta in South America this season, up from 15 million acres last year, he said. He declined to give figures for Brazil.
Brazilian farmers, who had previously battled Monsanto in court over fees, are paying 122 reais ($32) per hectare in royalties for the Intacta seeds, Santos added.
