Monsanto India drops 4%, hits 52-week low on CCI probe

NEW DELHI: Shares of Monsanto India ended lower 2.67 per cent in Thursday's trade after agencies said the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has been probing whether the company has abused its dominant position as a supplier of genetically modified (GM) cotton seeds.

The stock fell 4 per cent to hit a 52-week low of Rs 1,900.20 in the early trade. The scrip though recovered later and was trading at Rs 1,940, down 1.99 per cent at 10 am (IST). The stock has fallen 46.30 from its five-week high of Rs 3539 hit on February 23, 2015.

Farmers and their associations, including one affiliated to the ruling BJP, have complained that Monsanto overprices its products using its position as the supplier of GM seeds used in more than 90 per cent of the country's cotton fields, Reuters reported.

The US-based company launched a GM cotton variety in India in 2002 despite opposition from critics who questioned its safety, transforming the country into the world's top producer and second-largest exporter of the fibre. The agri-biotechnology major has posted a 17.68 per cent drop in standalone net profit to Rs 40.76 crore in the third quarter, compared with Rs 48.34 crore in the corresponding quarter of last year.

The company's total income rose to Rs 153.6 crore in the December quarter from Rs 133.80 crore in the year-ago period.