AAI President Diana Moss testified at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on consolidation in the U.S. seed and agrochemical industry on September 20, 2016. Dr. Moss’s testimony reflects the AAI’s long history of research, education, and advocacy on competition in agriculture and food.
Her testimony unpacked the competitive effects of the proposed mergers of agricultural biotechnology firms Dow-DuPont and Monsanto-Bayer, which would reduce the field of competition in the U.S. traits, seeds, and chemicals markets from the Big 6 to the Big 4.
AAI’s analysis discusses three ways in which the proposed mergers could adversely affect competition: (1) the elimination of head-to-head competition in markets for certain crop seed and chemicals; (2) reduction in competition in agricultural biotechnology innovation markets and reduced opportunities for pro-competitive research and development collaborations; and (3) substantial vertical integration that could produce exclusive packages of traits, seeds, and chemicals that do not “interoperate” with rival products, increasing the risk that smaller innovators cannot get access to technology and other resources needed to compete effectively. Dr. Moss’s testimony can be found here.
