Foreign seed companies on Friday joined forces to express their disapproval over India's proposal to make them disclose details of their genetically-modified crop technology to Indian stakeholders, Reuters reported. Officials from the Indian branches of seed company giants Monsanto, Bayer, Dow, Dupont Pioneer and Syngenta said the prices of seeds should be set by the market and not by regulation.

The alliance is a reaction in support of Monsanto's withdrawal of its application for approval for a new version of its genetically-modified cotton seeds after the company’s Indian arm, Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Co. Ltd, raised concerns about intellectual property rights. The agency report quoted a Bayer India official, who said no stakeholder would invest in research if India's proposal is implemented.

Opposition to genetically-modified crops is strong as fears are rife that lab-altered food may affect food safety. Meanwhile, a locally-developed genetically-modified mustard product is nearing the end of the approval process.