Just 3 companies control more than half (53%) of the global commercial market for seed.

Submitted by ETC Staff on

  • The global commercial seed market in 2009 is estimated at 27,400 million. 
  • The top 10 companies account for 73% of the global market (up from 67% in 2007). 
  • Just 3 companies control more than half (53%) of the global commercial market for seed. 
  • Monsanto, the world’s largest seed company and fourth largest pesticide company, now controls more than one-quarter (27%) of the commercial seed market.
  • Dow Agrosciences – the world’s fifth largest pesticide company – made a dramatic re-entry on the top 10 seed company list in 2009 following a seed company-buying spree that included Hyland Seeds (Canada), MTI (Austria), Pfister Seeds (USA) and Triumph Seed (USA), among others.
Sources: 
Who Will Control the Green Economy?, ETC Group, 2011
Related Issues: 
Seeds & Genetic Diversity
Related Fora: 
Food and Agriculture: FAO, CGIAR, CFS