Monsanto Co. and DuPont Co., the world's leading developers of genetically modified seeds, may win faster approval to sell their products in Brazil under new biotech regulations, analysts said.

Monsanto, the world's largest biotech crop developer, may get Brazilian approval this year to market seeds engineered to resist the corn borer insect, Citigroup Global Markets analyst P.J. Juvekar said today in a note. DuPont and Dow Chemical Co. may win approval for their jointly developed version of the insect-killing corn seed next year, he said.

While Brazil allows farmers to plant modified soybeans, it hasn't approved corn engineered to resist bugs and weed killers. Brazil's Senate on Feb. 27 passed a bill allowing the National Commission of Technical Biosafety to approve new seeds by a simple majority, instead of the previous two-thirds majority.

"It will no doubt speed things up," said Alda Lerayer, a researcher at the Biotechnology Information Council, which is funded by Monsanto and other biotechnology companies.

Last year, a new corn seed and a vaccine for pigs were rejected by the 27-member biosafety council even though they garnered support from a simple majority, Lerayer said in a telephone interview from Sao Paulo.

The speedier approval process may pave the way for Monsato to gain a larger slice of Brazil's corn market, said Citigroup's Juvekar said in the report. Monsato has increased its share of U.S. corn seed sales in each of the past six years, challenging the dominance of DuPont's Pioneer unit.

Some members of the biosafety council, made up of government officials and scientists, who are openly opposed to gene-altered crops could still stall approvals by delaying votes or seeking court injunctions, Lerayer said.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who last month announced 10 billion reais ($4.7 billion) of investments in biotechnology over the next 10 years, may try to speed up approvals by pressuring government officials to back the crops, Lerayer said.

"The government's willingness is a key part of the equation", she said.

Juvekar upgraded his rating on Monsanto shares today to "buy" from "hold", citing the potential for faster approvals in Brazil and a likely improvement in Latin American agriculture. He raised his price target to $60 from $52. Juvekar rates DuPont "buy" and Dow Chemical "hold".

Shares of Monsanto rose $1.49, or 3 percent, to $52.29 at 12:30 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. Before today, they had gained 16 percent in the past year. DuPont rose 91 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $50.77.

(Published by Bloomberg, March 6, 2007)