Market Concentration in the Grain Industry: Implications for Food Security?

On June 13, 2023, Bunge Limited, a US-based food trader and processor, announced its intention to buy rival grain trader Viterra, a company controlled by the commodity trading firm Glencore Plc and two Canadian pension funds. If the merger succeeds, the new company would be the second largest grain trading company in the world after Cargill and become a dominant player in wheat and soybean markets. Markets for agricultural inputs like fertilizer and seed are also highly concentrated.

Please join us for the fourth seminar of the IFPRI-AMIS series on Making Sense of Food and Agriculture Markets, which will examine whether increased concentration necessarily leads to increased market power or simply reflects the underlying economic efficiencies controlling value chains. Is this a food security concern and if so, what should be the role of international institutions and organizations in regulating markets?

Welcome Remarks

• Joseph Glauber, Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI and Interim Secretary, Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS)

Concentration in Grain Trade

• Javier Blas, Opinion Columnist, Bloomberg L.P. (invited)
• Benedicte Doumayrou, Senior Policy Officer chez, European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) (invited)

Concentration in the Seed Industry

• James MacDonald, Research Professor, University of Maryland (UMD)

Concentration in the Fertilizer Industry

• Delphine Leconte-Demarsy, Consultant – Fertilizers, AMIS hosted by Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

Discussant

• Seth Meyer, Chief Economist, USDA and AMIS Chair