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Concentration of market power
in the EU seed market
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Concentration in the EU in figures:
the cases of maize, wheat and tomato
This part the study looks at two sets of data:
1) who controls commercialised varieties and
2) the real market shares of the companies who own these varieties. The study focuses on three particular crops:
maize, soft wheat and tomato.
Analysing the European Common Catalogue and
the EU market share
As any plant variety marketed in the EU must be listed in the European Common Catalogue (see box on the
common seed variety catalogue and biodiversity), that catalogue can be used to analyse the companies owning
and registering the varieties marketed in the EU (although it contains no data on market shares of each variety).
For each variety, the catalogue shows the maintainer (the person or the organisation responsible for maintaining
the variety) which normally corresponds to the company selling the variety under its brand name (in some cases
maintainers are different from the breeders). The varieties in the catalogue are bred by or belong to private
companies, are possibly protected by IPRs, and can be part of the public domain; they can be maintained on behalf
of individuals, private companies or public research institutions. Indeed, particularly in the new EUMember States,
it is largely public bodies that are involved in breeding new varieties and registering them in the catalogue.
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This
is especially the case for maize and wheat, where different public institutes act as maintainers for some local
varieties.
In addition, the number of the varieties present in the catalogue does not correspond to the number of the varieties
really marketed in Europe. Experts have suggested that a company or public body could have the interest to
maintain certain varieties without commercialising them.
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Analysing the catalogue helps to understand the market power of a small number of companies that can own
hundreds of varieties of the same crop. A company with a larger number of varieties has more opportunities to
increase its own market share.
The information on market share is either somewhat fragmented or not available. Despite this, the information
available still has the capacity to show how the seed giants are conquering large portions of the EU seed markets.
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. http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/health_consumer/pressroom/docs/proposal_aphp_ia_en.pdf55.
Estimations based on GNIS figures: Les structures de la profession semencière - Campagne 2011/12, GNIS 2013, http://gnis.fr/index/action/page/id/56.56.
“Plant Breeder’s Rights are intellectual property rights given to a person who has developed a variety”, more information: http://www.worldseed.org/isf/intellectual_property.html57.
The Netherlands is an emblematic country for vegetable seeds. Around 40% of vegetable seed sold on the world market originates from here. ( Plant reproduction materials, a Dutch motor for export and innovation , Lei & Wageningen UR, February 2012, http://www.plantum.nl/Content/Files/file/Plant%20reproduction%20materials.pdf)58.
Concurrentie in de kiem , V. Kocsis, J. Weda & R. van der Noll, Ministerie van Economische Zaken, February 2013, http://www.rijksoverheid.nl/documenten-en-publicaties/rapporten/2013/06/05/concurrentie-in-de-kiem.html59.
Commission staff working document: impact assessment accompanying the document proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the production and making available on the market of plant reproductive material , European Commission May 2013, Brussels, p. 32, http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/health_consumer/pressroom/docs/proposal_aphp_ia_en.pdf60. Rapf K.,
The biodiversity perspective, A museum attraction or the future of food security for mankind?,
Arche Noah, presentation to European Parliament,
November 201
3, http://www.europarl.europa.eu/document/activities/cont/201311/20131129ATT75256/20131129ATT75256EN.pdf