CUSTOMERS
Our four largest U.S. agricultural distributors and their affiliates represented,
in the aggregate, 21 percent of our worldwide net sales and 39 percent of our
U.S. net sales. One major U.S. distributor and its affiliates represented 12
percent of the worldwide net sales for our Seeds and Genomics segment, and 21
percent of the U.S. net sales for our Seeds and Genomics segment.
We have a worldwide distribution and sales and marketing organization for our
agricultural productivity products. In some world areas, we use the same distribution
and sales and marketing organization for our agricultural productivity products
as for our seeds and traits. In other world areas, we have separate distribution
and sales and marketing organizations for our agricultural productivity products.
We sell our agricultural productivity products through distributors, independent
retailers and dealers and agricultural cooperatives. In some cases outside the
United States, we sell such products directly to farmers. We also sell certain
of the chemical intermediates of our agricultural productivity products to other
major agricultural chemical producers, who then market their own branded products
to farmers. Certain agricultural productivity products are marketed through
The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company.
We have a worldwide distribution and sales and marketing organization for our
seeds and traits. We sell our products under Monsanto brands and license technology
and genetic material to others for sale under their own brands. Through distributors,
independent retailers and dealers, agricultural cooperatives, and agents, we
market our DEKALB, Asgrow and Deltapine branded germplasm to farmers in every
agricultural region of the world. In the United States, we market regional seed
brands under our American Seeds, LLC and Channel Bio, LLC businesses to farmers
directly, as well as through dealers, agricultural cooperatives and agents.
In countries where they are approved for sale, we market and sell our trait
technologies with our branded germplasm, pursuant to license agreements with
our farmer customers. In Brazil and Paraguay, we have implemented a point-of-delivery,
grain-based payment system. We contract with grain handlers to collect applicable
trait fees when farmers deliver their grain. In addition to selling our products
under our own brands, we license a broad package of germplasm and trait technologies
to large and small seed companies in the United States and certain international
markets. Those seed companies in turn market our trait technologies in their
branded germplasm; they may also market our germplasm under their own brand
name. Our vegetable seeds are predominantly marketed under either the Seminis
or De Ruiter brand in more than 150 countries either directly to farmers or
through distributors, independent retailers and dealers, agricultural cooperatives,
plant raisers and agents.
