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Concentration of market power
in the EU seed market
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The French case
Data at EU level are not available for all crops. However, it is possible to analyse the consolidation of giant
seed companies in some EU countries which are important for the sector, such as France:
France represents the largest seed market in the EU, at 31% of the EU market. Based on figures published
by the European Parliament using GNIS
41
data, it can be seen that France is experiencing a high level of
market concentration, where only three companies - Limagrain, Dupont, Syngenta (including Maisadour) -
own 47% of the French market. The core business of these companies are profitable crops, such as maize
and other cereals. However, both Limagrain and Syngenta also have large market shares in the vegetable
seed market.
37. Defined as wheat, barley, oats, rye, rice, i.e. excluding maize, as per the French classification ”céréales à paille“
38.
While they wait in expectation for the EU to relax its stance on GM and new biotech products, the large seed companies have set their sights on hybridising wheat seeds in order to gain more market share. In 2011 the Limagrain chief executive stated that “developing hybrid wheat is a huge challenge – the genome is more complicated than that of maize – but if it can be done it has the potential to deliver significant benefits.“ (http://www.farminguk.com/news/Limagrain-chief- executive-puts-wheat-at-heart-of-group-strategy_21098.html). Therefore developing hybrid wheat seed is the strategic objective of agro-industry, to push out the practice of farm saved seeds from the European farming model, where it is currently very popular with farmers.39.
2011-2012 annual report , Vilmorin 2012, http://www.vilmorin.info/vilmorin/CMS/Files/publications/publications%20et%20analyses/rapports%20annuels/Vilmorin_annual_report_2011_2012.pdf40.
À propos: Limagrain and wheat , Limagrain March 2013, p. 2, http://limagrainchina.cn/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/a-propos-ble-2012-gb.pdf41. GNIS, the Groupement National Interprofessionnel des Semences et plantes, is the umbrella organisation of the French seed industry.
42.
The EU Seed and Plant Reproductive Material (PRM) market in perspective: a focus on companies and market shares
, Directorate-general for internal policies of
the European Parliament, November 2013, Brussels, Pg 14,
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/note/join/2013/513994/IPOL-AGRI_NT(2013)513994_EN.pdfCOMPANY NAME
TotaL turnover
in france
( € million )
estimated market
share
( all crops )
cumulated share
limagrain
syngenta
dupont-pioneer
ragt
euralis
desprez
maisadour
caussade
monsanto
413
342
186
135
115
96
85
80
74
19%
16%
8%
6%
5%
4%
4%
4%
3%
19%
35%
43%
49%
54%
58%
62%
66%
69%
source:extrapolationbyeppoldepb,basedongnisdata
Table 2:
Estimated market shares of seed companies in France (2011)
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