Concentration in Seed Markets
Potential Effects and Policy Responses
Recent mergers in the seed industry have led to concerns about market concentration and its potential effects on prices, product choice, and innovation. This study provides new and detailed empirical evidence on the degree of market concentration in seed and GM technology across a broad range of crops and countries, and analyses the causes and potential effects of concentration. It also explains how competition authorities have responded to mergers, and suggests policy options to help safeguard and stimulate competition and innovation in plant breeding by avoiding unnecessary regulatory barriers, by facilitating access to genetic resources and intellectual property, as well as by stimulating public and private R&D. As this study shows, policy makers have several levers besides competition policy to ensure an innovative and competitive seed industry.
Structural changes in the seed industry
The seed industry has witnessed several phases of consolidation in the past three decades. This chapter presents profiles of the main firms in the global seed industry, with particular attention to recent changes. The drivers behind the observed pattern of change and consolidation are discussed in-depth and illustrated with a case study of the US cotton seed industry. Implications for the current merger wave are also examined.