"There is overwhelming support for these products here. Use of genetic soy in Argentina is now endemic," said Guillermo Cal, president of the Argentine Chamber of Agricultural Safety and Fertilizers, known as CASAFE.

"With international grain prices this low, Argentine producers look to technology to provide them with a competitive advantage. Genetically engineered beans offers them just such an edge," Cal said.

GM soybeans, such as Monsanto's Roundup Ready seeds, are resistant to pesticides that would kill normal beans.

Those pesticides sell for as much as $20 per liter less than competing products, generating a huge saving for Argentine farmers, analysts said.

"Sales of Monsanto's Roundup Ready have rocketed here. We estimate that 70% of the 1998-99 soybean crop used our genetically modified beans," saidCarlos Beco, Monsanto's marketing director for Argentina.

Argentina is the world's largest exporter of soybeans, and the third largest producer after the U.S. and Brazil.