Brazil's National Biosafety Commission, or CTNBio, approved Monsanto Co.'s (MON) transgenic cotton seed product, a CTNBio press officer confirmed Thursday.

Monsanto's Bollgard II cotton product provides plant protection from insects.

The genetically modified, or GMO, cotton seed still needs to be assessed by Brazil's Ministry of Agriculture. The GMO cotton is likely to take more than a year to be commercially available, the press officer said.

By Tony Danby and Daniel McCleary; Dow Jones Newswires; 55-11-2847-4523; Anthony.Danby@dowjones.com