FRANKFURT, March 7 (Reuters) - Bayer has

warned U.S. lawmakers it could stop selling the popular Roundup

weedkiller if they cannot provide better legal protection

against product liability litigation, according to a financial

analyst and a person familiar with the matter.

Bayer has already paid about $10 billion to settle disputed

claims that Roundup, based on the glyphosate herbicide, causes

cancer. There is a backlog of about 67,000 pending cases for

which the group has set aside a further $5.9 billion in legal

provisions.

"Without regulatory clarity (Bayer) will need to exit the

business. Bayer have been clear with legislators and farmer

groups on this," analysts at brokerage Jefferies said in a note

on Thursday, citing guidance Bayer's leadership provided in a

meeting.

Disclosing glyphosate sales numbers for the first time,

Bayer on Wednesday said the product, one of the most widely used

weedkillers in U.S. field farming, generated 2.6 billion euros

($2.8 billion) in revenue last year.

"Bayer could reach a point in the future where the company is

forced to discontinue the sale of the product in the United

States," a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Bayer, which acquired the product under the $63 billion

takeover of Monsanto in 2018, said: "We are exploring every

possibility to end this litigation" and declined to comment

further.

(Editing by Gerry Doyle)