The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Thursday sued two top pesticide manufacturers for allegedly entering into exclusive contracts with distributors that kept prices paid by farmers artificially high. The attorneys general of 10 states joined in the suit.
The lawsuit alleges Syngenta and Corteva Inc. paid distributors not to offer farmers generic pesticides, herbicides and fungicides after the companies’ patents on six chemical ingredients expired. As a result, farmers have paid around 20% more, amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars a year, for the companies’ products, an FTC official said.
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Syngenta spokesman Saswato Das said the arrangements were customer discounts that were “part of a voluntary and industry-standard program that has been in place for decades” in the industry. “Syngenta strongly disagrees with the FTC’s complaint, which it believes is contrary to the facts and the law and is without merit,” Das said. “We are disappointed that the FTC has failed to appreciate the beneficial effects that these rebate programs provide to our channel partners and to growers.”
Corteva spokesperson Kris Allen said the company believes the complaint has no basis. “We will vigorously defend our position that Corteva’s customer marketing programs are fully compliant with the antitrust laws,” Allen said.
The lawsuit asks the court to end the loyalty programs and grant restitution to farmers.
