Union agriculture ministry has slashed the maximum sale price of genetically modified (GM) Bt cotton seeds by Rs 10 to Rs 730 per packet for the next fiscal and also trimmed royalty to US-based technology provider Monsanto by almost half to Rs 20 per packet. This is third straight fiscal year that the ministry is cutting down the cotton seed's maximum sales price and royalty.
The move is supposed to benefit eight million cotton growers and will also increase the margin of domestic seed companies as the royalty fee to Mahyco Monsanto Biotech is been reduced considerably. However, maximum sale price of the BG-I version has been kept unchanged at Rs 635 per packet with no trait value.
Bt cotton is the only GM crop allowed for commercial cultivation in the country. Over the last decade, Bt cotton technology has been adopted on over 95 per cent of the country's cotton-growing area, making India the second-largest producer and exporter of the cash crop.