ETC Group
April 30, 2007
www.etcgroup.org
The World's Top 10 Seed Companies - 2006
Based on 2006 revenues, the top 10 seed corporations account for 55% of the commercial seed market worldwide.
Concentration Trend Continues: According to estimates provided by industry analysts, Context Network, the value of the overall commercial seed market was $22,900 million in 2006 (includes seeds purchased from public breeding programs).1 By contrast, just two years ago, ETC Group reported that the top 10 accounted for 49% of the worldwide market. In 1996 - one decade ago - the top 10 seed companies accounted for 37% of the worldwide market - and Monsanto did not even appear on the list.
The market share of the top 10 seed companies is even greater when looking at the proprietary (patented?) seed market. According to Context Network, the global proprietary seed market was worth $19,600 million in 2006.
- In 2006, the top 10 companies account for $12,559 million - or 64% of the total proprietary seed market.
- Monsanto - the world's largest seed company - accounts for more than one-fifth of the global proprietary seed market.
- The top 3 companies - Monsanto, Dupont and Syngenta - account for $8,552 million - or 44% of the total proprietary seed market.
- The top 4 companies account for $9,587 million - or almost half (49%) - of the total proprietary seed market.
1 Personal communication with the Context Network. http://www.contextnet.com/
Based on 2006 Seed Revenues
| Company | 2006 seed sales US $ millions |
| 1. Monsanto (US) | $4,028 |
| 2. Dupont (US) | $2,781 |
| 3. Syngenta (Switzerland) | $1,743 |
| 4. Groupe Limagrain (France) | $1,035 |
| 5. Land O' Lakes (US) | $756 |
| 6. KWS AG (Germany) | $615 |
| 7. Bayer Crop Science (Germany) | $430 |
| 8. Delta & Pine Land (US) (acquisition by Monsanto pending) | $418 |
| 9. Sakata (Japan) | $401 |
| 10. DLF-Trifolium (Denmark) | $352 |
Source: ETC Group
