How agricultures big five thrive in crisis

The 'Big Five' agricultural commodity traders—ADM, Bunge, Cargill, COFCO, and LDC—dominate the global trade of staples like grains and oilseeds, controlling 70-90% of the commercial grain market. The author contends that these companies used the 2021-2022 food price spikes, driven partly by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, to dramatically increase net profit margins, with profits in 2022 being 200-300% higher than the 2016-2020 average. This dominance is maintained through strategies of market consolidation (M&As), vertical integration across the value chain, and interconnectedness via joint ventures. The document criticizes EU competition regulators for a narrow focus on immediate consumer prices, which has led to the approval of nearly all M&A cases involving the Big Five, including the recent 34-billion-dollar Bunge-Viterra deal. The author concludes that while stronger anti-trust enforcement is necessary, a systemic shift toward degrowth and decolonization is required to dismantle the incentives for such concentration.

• Five multinational companies—Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Bunge, Cargill, China Oil and Foodstuffs Corporation (COFCO), and Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC)—collectively dominate the global agricultural commodity market, controlling between 70 and 90 per cent of the global trade in commercial grains.
• The 'Big Five' experienced a massive surge in profitability during the 2021-2022 food crisis; net profits in 2022 were 200 to 300 per cent higher than the average for the 2016-2020 period.
• The companies maintain market dominance through three primary strategies: market consolidation via mergers and acquisitions, vertical integration (controlling everything from seeds and loans to transport), and interconnectedness through joint ventures and shared technology platforms like Covantis.
• EU competition regulators have largely failed to prevent market concentration, approving nearly all M&A cases involving the Big Five because they focus narrowly on immediate consumer prices rather than cumulative societal harms.
• The Big Five's control over the supply chain, including immense grain storage capacity, creates incentives to withhold stocks until prices peak, contributing to 'seller's inflation' where profit margins are increased during crises.
• Recent anti-competitive behavior among the Big Five includes a 5 million dollar settlement by ADM for price-fixing in the US peanut sector and an 84.4 million dollar settlement by Cargill regarding poultry sector worker wages.
• The European Commission approved the 34-billion-dollar merger between Bunge and Viterra on 1 August without a deep investigation, despite warnings from the Competition Bureau of Canada about substantial anti-competitive effects.

APA

Kiezebrink, A. G. Ç. Ç. V. (2024). How agricultures big five thrive in crisis. Green European Journal. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/how-agricultures-big-five-thrive-in-crisis/

Chicago

Kiezebrink, Audrey Gaughran, Çağrı Çavuş, Vincent. How agricultures big five thrive in crisis. Green European Journal, 2024. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/how-agricultures-big-five-thrive-in-crisis/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Kiezebrink |first1=Audrey Gaughran, Çağrı Çavuş, Vincent |title=How agricultures big five thrive in crisis |publisher=Green European Journal |date=26 August 2024 |url=https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/how-agricultures-big-five-thrive-in-crisis/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{kiezebrink2024how, author = {Kiezebrink, Audrey Gaughran, Çağrı Çavuş, Vincent}, title = {{How agricultures big five thrive in crisis}}, institution = {Green European Journal}, year = {2024}, month = aug, url = {https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/how-agricultures-big-five-thrive-in-crisis/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }