Seed companies, which farmers complain use their market power to keep prices high, have been put on notice by the White House.
(Bloomberg) — Seed companies, which farmers complain use their market power to keep prices high, have been put on notice by the White House.
The Biden administration on Monday stepped up scrutiny of competition in the seed industry, announcing plans to form a working group including the Justice Department to improve market fairness.
President Joe Biden identified consolidation in the sector as a concern in his 2021 executive order on fair markets. Farmers have complained about how the key agricultural inputs are priced following a dramatic shift toward consolidation in ownership of patent-protected seeds.
The four largest companies now control 95% of patents and other protected intellectual property for corn seeds, up from 41% controlled by the top four firms in 1990, according to a US Department of Agriculture report released Monday. The top four firms — Bayer AG, Corteva Inc., ChemChina and BASF SE — own 84% of intellectual property for soybean seeds, 74% for cotton and 51% for wheat.
US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the USDA and the US Patent and Trademark Office would create the new working group with the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission to promote competition in the market. The USDA is also establishing a Farmer Seed Liaison role in the department to focus on the issue.
“This report is a strong signal of the importance of building momentum and robust action through a whole government approach to competition,” Andy Green, a senior adviser to Vilsack on competition policy, said in an interview. With the four agencies in the working group, “everyone’s involved. I think it is a thing that will have a snowball effect.”
The administration also said it will invest $89 million to finance the startup and expansion of independent meat processors in a bid to bring down prices.
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