SAO PAULO - Brazil's National Biosafety Commission, or CTNBio, has approved Swiss multinational seed company Syngenta's (SYT) transgenic corn, a CTNBio press officer confirmed Thursday.
 
"Syngenta can now commercially sell its transgenic corn in Brazil," the press officer said.
 
Medard Schoenmaeckers, head of media relations for Syngenta in Europe, said that Syngenta's Bt11 transgenic corn, containing insecticide, is increasingly important as farmers plant more corn in Brazil.
 
"The product is already sold in the U.S.," he said, refusing to give any targets for sales in Brazil.
 
Syngenta joins CropScience's LibertyLink and Monsanto Co.'s (MON) Guardian brand of genetically modified corn, which has already received approval.
 
Meanwhile, Syngenta remains uncertain about the future of its troubled 128-acre GMO test center in west Parana, Schoenmaeckers said.
 
The GMO soybean and corn research lab owned by Syngenta, not far from the large Iguassu National Park, has been dogged by protesting anti-GMO campaigners since 2006. The protesters have now left the site and the company is evaluating the damage and the future use of the site, Schoenmaeckers said.
 
"We are looking at all options," he said, refusing to answer whether the site could be closed down permanently.
 
Parana is the leading corn growing state in Brazil.
 
Corn is Brazil's No. 2 crop in acreage behind soybeans, which is Brazil's leading farm commodity.