** World Seed Conference: Shrinking Club of Industry Giants **
Gather for Wake or Pep Rally?
**RAFI Releases Newly Updated Seed Industry Giants: Who Owns Whom?**
An inauspicious gathering of the 1999 World Seed Conference takes place
6-8 September in Cambridge UK to mark the 75th anniversary of the
international
seed trade. RAFI takes this opportunity to release its 1999 update on seed
industry consolidation. A shrinking number of colossal companies - the
Gene
Giants - dominate global sales of seeds, agrochemicals and
pharmaceuticals.
"Given the dramatic rate of consolidation in the global seed trade,
membership is evaporating and all of the seed industry CEO's could
probably
meet for a weenie roast on someone's patio," remarks Pat Mooney, Executive
Director of RAFI, who is among the featured speakers at next week's World
Seed Conference.
According to RAFI, the top five Gene Giants (AstaZeneca, DuPont, Monsanto,
Novartis, Aventis) account for nearly two-thirds of the global pesticide
market (60%), almost one-quarter (23%) of the commercial seed market, and
virtually 100% of the transgenic (genetically modified) seed market. "The
Gene Giants' portfolio extends far beyond plant breeding," explains
Mooney,
"From plants, to animals, to human genetic material they are fast becoming
monopoly monarchs over all the life kingdoms," said Mooney. Five years
ago,
none of top 5 Gene Giants appeared on the list of leading seed
corporations.
In fact, 3 of the top 5 companies didn't even exist (Zeneca + Astra merged
to form AstraZeneca; Rhone Poulenc + Hoechst became Aventis; Ciba Geigy +
Sandoz became Novartis. DuPont swallowed Pioneer Hi-Bred earlier this
year.
A few short years ago, many would have predicted that the 1999 World Seed
Conference would be a gala event to reap the profits and promise of
genetically modified (GM) seeds. After all, sales of transgenic seeds grew
twenty-fold from 1995-1998; analysts predicted industry revenues would
surpass $3 billion in 2000 and explode to $25 billion in 2010. But much
has
changed in the past year. The Cambridge gathering is rapidly taking on the
trappings of a wake, and the group might forego their patio picnic to
hunker
down in a bunker instead. The civil society organizations who plan to
protest in Cambridge under the banner "Seeds of Resistance," will
reinforce
the message that GMOs are under siege
Seed Industry Top 10
Company Seed Sales (US)
Millions - 1998
DuPont (USA) $1,835+
Monsanto (USA) $1,800 (estimate)
Novartis(Switzerland) $1,000
Groupe Limagrain (France) $733
Savia S.A. de C.V. (Mexico) $428
AstraZeneca (UK and Neth.) $412
KWS AG (Germany) $370
AgriBiotech, Inc. (USA) $370
Sakata (Japan) $349*
Takii (Japan) $300* (estimate)
Top 10 Agrochemical Companies
Company Pesticide Sales (U.S.) Millions 1998
Aventis (Germany) $4,676
Novartis (Switzerland) $4,152
Monsanto (USA) $4.032
DuPont (USA) $3,156
AstraZeneca (UK and Neth.) $2,897
Bayer (Germany) $2,273
American Home Products $2,194
Dow (USA) $2,132
BASF (Germany) $1,945
Makhteshim-Agan (Israel) $801
Source: RAFI and Agrow No. 335 August 27 1999.
*Note: 1998 sales figures were not available for some seed companies
Consolidation: Vital Statistics
The top 10 seed companies control approximately 33% of the $23 billion
seed trade worldwide.
The top 3 seed companies (DuPont, Monsanto, Novartis) account for 20% of
the global seed trade.
The top 10 agrochemical companies control 91% of the $31 billion
agrochemical market.
The top five Gene Giants (AstraZeneca, DuPont, Monsanto, Novartis and
Aventis) account for nearly two-thirds of the global pesticide market
(60%),
almost one-quarter (23%) of the global seed market, and virtually 100% of
the transgenic seed market.
In the words of U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman, opposition to
genetically engineered foods and seeds, once confined to Europe, has
spread
like "an infectious disease." The list of food processors, retailers,
farmers, consumers and governments who give a thumbs down to GMOs is
mushrooming. Earlier this year, the world's largest food processors,
Unilever and Nestle, said they would reject GM ingredients in their
European
products. Europe's largest grocery store chains followed suit. Last week,
Japanese brewers, Kirin and Sapporo, announced they would begin using only
non-genetically engineered maize to brew their beer. The Japanese
government
now requires companies to label genetically engineered products.
In the dog house: Mexico's biggest tortilla maker, Grupo Maseca, says it
will stop importing genetically modified grain. After Greenpeace disclosed
that commercial baby food contains GMOs, U.S.-based Gerber (Novartis) and
H.J. Heinz vowed to reject genetically engineered corn and soya. Adding
insult to injury, US pet food company Iams recently announced that GMO
maize
isn't acceptable for dog food!
In Brazil, the world's second largest exporter of soybeans, a federal
judge
barred the planting of GM soybeans until environmental impact assessments
are prepared. The Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul has declared itself
a
GM-free state.
Farmers Defecting : Peasants and farmers worldwide, from France to India
to
Brazil have successfully protested the introduction of GM seeds. Now, even
US farmers may be defecting from a genetically modified future. A Deutsche
Bank study entitled "GMOs Are Dead" sent tremors through the international
investment community with its prediction in May, 1999 that price premiums
for GMO seeds could collapse. In a desperate attempt to rescue a sinking
ship, Deutsche Bank reports that Monsanto began offering free RoundUp
herbicide to farmers who use the company's new RoundUp Ready (herbicide
tolerant) maize seed.
In growing numbers, American farmers resent being guinea pigs for GMO
crops
that nobody wants to buy or eat. An uncharacteristically bold press
release
issued by the American Corn Growers Association last week said that "GMOs
have become the albatross around the neck of farmers" and urged its
members
to plant non-GM seed. The Corn Growers struck at the guts of the issue
when
it asked, "How does the monopolistic practice of a handful of companies
controlling the entire GMO process effect the future of U.S. food
production?" http://www.acga.org
Reaping what you sow: "It's too soon to declare that GMOs are dead,"
cautions RAFI's Hope Shand. The fight for food is just beginning. The Gene
Giants may soon become bargain buys for bigger fish - the food processors
or
insurance companies. "When Terminator technology was unveiled 18 months
ago,
we were all shocked by the extravagance of corporate greed and the specter
of self-destructing, suicide seeds. Now, GMO markets are self-destructing.
Maybe the Gene Giants are reaping what they sow," said Shand.
RAFI's newly updated chart, Seed Industry Consolidation: Who Owns Whom?
will
be available on RAFI's web site, http:www.rafi.org
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