Chinese Merger Control in the Agriculture Sector

Abstract

In the 11 years of enforcement of the Anti-Monopoly Law, the Chinese merger control authorities have cleared over 40 transactions subject to remedies. In the agriculture sector, remedies were imposed in two "crop protection" cases (Bayer/Monsanto and Dow Chemical/DuPont), two potash cases (Uralkali/Silvinit and Potash/Agrium), and Marubeni/Gavilon.

This paper analyses these cases, in particular to check how the various analytical steps in the merger review process have played out. Then, the paper examines if agriculture sectoral policies have surfaced in these cases, and how their influence has changed over time.

Keywords: China, antitrust, competition law, anti-monopoly, merger control, MOFCOM, SAMR