Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
represented 20 percent or more of the value of the entire U.S. seed market in
recent years.
Several studies in recent years used national micro-level market data to
analyze component pricing strategy for different biotechnology traits and
market power for U.S. field crops for which GM varieties are important. For
the case of corn (Shi et al., 2010a) and soybeans (Shi et al., 2009), these data
can also be used as a check on the estimates based on the NASS data.
10
For
cotton, Shi et al. (2010b) do not present data on national-level seed prices, but
their data still allow for comparisons with the NASS-based estimates used in
this study.
11
Nonetheless, calculations based on data from Shi et al. suggest the
same relationships (e.g., the proportion of the value of the U.S. corn seed
market attributable to GM traits is lowest among the three major crops with
significant areas planted to GM varieties, and the proportion of the value of the
U.S. cotton seed market made up of GM traits is the highest). Similar to our
NASS-based calculations, calculations based on Shi et al.'s (2010a) data imply
the trait percentage of value for corn has risen from 7 to 21 percent between
2001 and 2007, while the trait percentage of value for soybeans has been
higher but more variable, estimated at around 35 percent in 2007.
S
TRUCTURE OF THE
G
LOBAL
S
EED
I
NDUSTRY
Seed Company Market Structure in 2009
In this report, we divide the global crop seed and biotechnology industry
into four tiers. The first tier is what we refer to as the “Big 6”—large multina-
tional corporations with positions in both the markets for crop seed-biotech-
nology and agricultural chemicals. The second tier consists of other seed
companies that do some research. This group includes companies that may
have a significant global presence as well as smaller regional or local seed
companies. A third tier consists of mostly small seed companies that do not
conduct research themselves but only produce and sell seed under licensing or
other commercial arrangements with the other companies or public-sector
breeders who develop new varieties. Finally, a fourth tier comprises small and
medium-size agricultural biotechnology companies. These companies do not
generally sell seed but rather seek to commercialize a new genetic trait or
biotechnology service or tool to other firms in the industry. Our survey
identified more than 100 such “agricultural biotechnology startups” that have
proliferated since the 1980s. Some of these companies have been bought out
