Corteva and Bayer supply the majority of corn, cotton and soybean seeds in the US in 2018-2020

The agricultural seed sector in the United States has faced marked concentration. In recent decades, few companies have come to dominate the supply of seeds and agricultural chemicals. Corteva and Bayer, which accounted for more than half of retail sales of corn, cotton and soybean seeds in 2018-2020, were the main influencers, according to the Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service (ERS) report. of the USA (USDA).

Furthermore, the report noted that four companies, including Bayer and Corteva, along with ChemChina's Syngenta Group and BASF, control the majority of sales of agricultural products and chemical inputs in the United States. This represents a significant concentration of the market in a small number of companies.

This process of concentration in the agricultural seed market can be attributed to several factors, including:

1. Expansion of intellectual property rights: In the 1970s and 1980s, private companies gained intellectual property rights for agricultural crop improvements. This has created incentives to research and develop new varieties of biotech agricultural seeds.
2. Advances in biotechnology: With the advancement of biotechnology, companies have created genetically modified (GM) seed varieties. These include corn, soybeans and cotton. They are herbicide tolerant and insect resistant.
3. Mergers and integration: There have been mergers between companies involved in the production and sale of pesticides, crop treatments, crops and seed traits. These mergers resulted in greater integration between the crops sector and the agricultural chemicals sector.

Challenges of agricultural seed market concentration

The concentration of the agricultural seed market could have significant implications for competition and innovation in the sector. This can also affect farmers, as fewer supplier options can limit their choices and influence prices. Therefore, monitoring and regulating this sector are important issues for agriculture in the United States and around the world.

Source: Oils & Fats International