Ag Executives Sell Merger Deals to Skeptical Senate Panel

The recent wave of mergers and acquisitions in the agriculture and chemical businesses won't raise prices for farmers or stifle innovation, industry executives told the Senate Judiciary Committee.  Of the top six U.S. and European agribusiness companies, five are in talks for a merger or a buy-out. The trend in consolidation could fundamentally reshape the global agrochemical and bioengineered seed industries, with critics saying that less competition could mean bigger costs for farmers already suffering under low commodity prices.  Executives from DuPont Co., Dow Chemical Co., Monsanto Co., Bayer AG and Syngenta Ag—all involved in proposed deals—told the panel that consolidation in the industry will create efficiencies to better bring new technologies to the market.   But panel members were largely skeptical. “Further concentration in the industry will reduce choice and further raise the price of chemicals and seeds for farmers, which ultimately will affect choice and costs for consumers,” Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), said. Concern was bipartisan, with Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) noting that the hot merger and acquisition climate would leave only a few companies at the top. “Our farmers and consumers face enough challenges without the additional benefit of an anti-competitive market,” Klobuchar said. “The three transactions before us are substantial. Taken together they reduce the six major agribusiness firms to four.”