This report was prepared by experts from the International BRICS Competition Law and Policy Centre as part of expert support for the BRICS Working Group for the Research of Competition Issues in Food Markets. The launch of the report took place on September 12 at the University of Cape Town (South Africa) on the sidelines of the IX International BRICS Competition Conference.
The report analyzes the hidden mechanisms of market power concentration in global grain trade, dominated by the major agricultural commodity traders — the ABCD+ group (ADM, Bunge, Cargill, LDC, and smaller satellite traders). The study identifies four constitutive elements of their economic power: deep financial embeddedness, ownership of digital platforms, interlinkages between corporate groups operated by traders, and extensive vertical integration. These elements constitute an organizing, ecosystem-like type of power that is akin to the orchestrating power of the largest digital ecosystems. Particular attention is paid to how this form of power escapes traditional antitrust scrutiny, despite its significant impact on global food value chains.
The study provides a critical analysis of the recent merger between global grain traders Viterra and Bunge, and proposes a set of institutional and policy measures aimed at enhancing competition and transparency in this strategically important sector. Among the key initiatives is a proposal for BRICS competition authorities to conduct a joint sector inquiry into the global grain trade, as well as the creation of the BRICS joint grain exchange mechanism as an alternative trading platform.
The paper serves both as a theoretical contribution to understanding emerging forms of market power and as a practical guide for regulators seeking to reform the global architecture of agricultural commodity trade.
The report was authored under the leadership of Alexey Ivanov, Director of the BRICS Competition Law and Policy Centre and Professor at the HSE University Faculty of Law. The BRICS Centre’s research team was led by research fellow Daria Kotova and included research fellows Svetlana Bovt, Yuxi Chen, Evgeny Ponomarev, Dmitry Potapenko, Yury Rovnov, Mikhail Shikhmuradov, Gian Marco Solas, Stepan Volkov and Fedor Kabanov.
