Boston, MA 09/19/2014 (wallstreetpr) – The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE:DOW) won approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for its new genetically-modified corn and soybeans. However, the product, fondly known as “Enlist Weed Control System”, still requires the approval of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Until then, the company said there would be no detailed discussions about commercialization plans for Enlist. However, it hopes to get the product to the market on time for the U.S. planting season, Reuters stated in an article.
Enlist is an agricultural product developed by The Dow Chemical’s subsidiary known as AgroSciences. The product enables farmers to fight weeds without any adverse effect to their crops. The company expects Enlist to enjoy wide adoption on the farms because of its benefits over rival products. As such, Down Chemical projects that Enlist could bring $1 billion or more in revenue.
Lucrative market
The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE:DOW) had annual revenue of $7.1 billion in 2013 and it expects Enlist to expand its position in the U.S. seed market, which is lucrative, but is currently dominated by its rival Monsanto.
In addition to the U.S., Dow Chemical is also eying China with Enlist. China is another lucrative market, but the company conceded that it faces approval hurdles there. The major challenge is that China has in recent times become uneasy with the U.S. GMO corns. The country is concerned that U.S. corn shipments contain Syngenta AG’s GMO corn that is not approved in there.
However, Dow Chemical Company (NYSE:DOW) officials revealed that they were in the “middle of the process” to seek Chinese approval of Enlist, but the process is lengthy as it task two years.
Safety concerns
There is another challenge that The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE:DOW) faces towards the commercialization of Enlist, and that problem is closer home. Various U.S. food safety and environmental groups have brought lawsuits against Enlist and such could delay the commercialization of the product. The groups claim that Enlist contains a chemical that has already created weed resistance problem and that the product also poses safety concerns for consumers.
