Bayer faces more than 52,000 lawsuits over Monsanto glyphosate

The German group Bayer reported on Monday a sharp rise of more than 20%, equivalent to 1,500 million euros (about 1,630 million dollars), in its profits for the first quarter of 2020, due to the “increase in demand” in health from the new coronavirus.

On the other hand, the giant of the chemical and pharmaceutical industry revealed that its American subsidiary Monsanto faces 52,500 lawsuits for the herbicide glyphosate.

Bayer had a turnover of 12.8 billion euros in the first quarter, up 5.7%.

The company recorded a net profit, excluding the exceptional effects (EBITDA) of $ 4.4 billion, an increase of 10.2%.

For its part, the health division of the group registered a 13.5% increase in turnover, a “strong growth” due to an “increase in demand” caused by the covid-19 pandemic.

However, the company indicated that it is still unable to measure the impact of the new coronavirus in 2020 since many measures taken in the fight against the pandemic had a negative impact.

The agrochemical division increased its turnover by 6.1% and continues to benefit from the purchase of the American group Monsanto in 2027, which allowed Bayer to become number one in the sector..

But that purchase also remains a source of problems for Bayer in the United States due to the product “Round’up”, a herbicide made with glyphosate, classified as potentially carcinogenic in 2015 by the International Center Against Cancer (CIRC), a dependency of the WHO.

Monsanto faces a total of 52,500 lawsuits in the United States, against 48,600 in February.

After being convicted in the first instance in several cases, Bayer wants “to continue participating constructively in the mediation process” which due to the pandemic has not been able to advance much.

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