From Fields to Futures: Competition, Financialization and Digitalization in Global Grain Value Chains

• This report was prepared by the 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 will take 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 network maps show cases of interlinkages among traders through joint ventures and joint infrastructure projects and cases of institutional investors' ownership in the ABCD+ traders' corporate groups.
• The maps are built in VOSViewer based on Orbis corporate groups & subsidiary data. Data was retrieved on 25 May 2025.
• Isolated cases of ownership are exlcuded (i.e. only cases of ownerhship in more than one corporate group are depicted).
• The maps are built using the associated strength and Lin/Log modularity methods.

• Below, we present an outlook on the ABCD+ group’s port terminals as well as production facilities with access to maritime and river trade routes throughout the world. The data for the map was collected using open sources. The information on the companies’ locations was taken from their corporate websites, double-checked using web-based mapping services. Data was retrieved on 11 August 2025. The joint facilities were selected, primarily, based on the materials already present in this report. For some facilities, the approximate location was indicated.
• Several patterns can be outlined. LDC and Cargill, for example, has had accentuated presence along the Mississippi river, which is an in-land river transportation route in the United States running out to sea. Moreover, these two enterprises’ port infrastructure control is extended towards the South-East Asia region, where the Strait of Malacca is located. Out of all ABCD+ traders, ADM appears most dominant in the European port network, although the company has offices in many other parts of the world, meaning its logistical power might not limit solely to Europe and Egypt. Bunge’s activity in Australia, for its part, was strengthened by the acquisition of Viterra’s assets. All of the companies, except ADM, have established observable strategic presence in South America. Ports like Santos and the neighbouring Guarujá linked to São Paulo, Paranaguá nearby Curitiba, terminals on the Paraná river near Rosario and in the Bahía Blanca Bay in Argentina are notable for being the locations where multiple members of the ABCD+ group possess control over different port establishments.
• Due to specific and, presumably, confidential nature of the issue, the maritime transportation network of the ABCD+ companies is likely to be larger, especially in the modern conditions of shared corporate structures. A more detailed definitions of geographical patterns related to the traders’ logistical facilities will be possible to provide on the basis of a more comprehensive and organized corporate data.