The issue of competition in the agricultural industry is heating up now that corporate giant DuPont has asked federal regulators to get a tighter grip over seed giant Monsanto.
Reuters reports that DuPont, also an ag powerhouse with its Pioneer Hi-Bred International, is claiming that Monsanto is being anti-competitive, using monopoly powers to drive up prices.
“Monsanto has engaged in numerous practices that improperly seek to expand the scope of intellectual property rights at the expense of competition, innovation, and choice,” DuPont said in an 18-page report for the Justice Department, which is holding a hearing on the subject in March.
Indeed, the DOJ and Department of Agriculture are teaming up this year to hold a series of public workshops to explore competition issues affecting the agricultural sector. The agencies want to know, among other things, what role antitrust and regulatory enforcement agencies should play.
Monsanto didn’t talk to Reuters, but the company responded in its own comments filed with the DOJ. The company said there’s already plenty of competition.
According to Reuters, “DuPont estimates that Monsanto, through its branded products and licensing, has 98% of the U.S. soybean market, 79% of the corn market and 60% of the corn and soy germplasm licensed in the U.S.”
Monsanto put its market share at much less with: “branded corn seed at about 36%; branded soy seed at 29% share; and cotton at 41% in the U.S.”
I’m eager to see who else has commented. Reuters notes that the workshop effort has so far collected an impressive 15,000 comments!
Comments were due Dec. 31.
More on the workshops:
DOJ: Agriculture and Antitrust Enforcement Issues in Our 21st Century Economy
More coverage:
Des Moines Register: Pioneer calls rival Monsanto ‘monopoly’
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Monsanto states its case on seed competition
Virtual Farmgirl 