HC Deb 24 June 1997 vol 296 cc741-2

'If it shall appear to the Ministers that any company making application for the grant of plant breeders' rights would, were the application to succeed, hold more than five per cent. of the market for the crop of which the variety which is the subject of the application is a variety, then that application shall stand referred to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission.'—[Mr. Baker.]

Brought up, and read the First time.

Mr. Baker

I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.

I shall not rehearse the arguments that I advanced in my speech on Second Reading. The new clause is an attempt to highlight the importance that we attach to the direction in which the ownership or patenting of seeds is moving in this country and across the world. I cited figures earlier regarding the market penetration of Monsanto and other companies. Chemical companies are buying seed companies in large numbers. In the past, there was a natural division between seed and chemical companies that provided some protection because it diluted ownership within the agricultural sector. However, that is no longer the case and we are witnessing a concentration of ownership.

In those circumstances, individual companies are able to control significant sections of the market and adversely affect it to benefit themselves and to disadvantage farmers. The Minister has not had a chance to respond in detail to the serious issues about genetically modified material that are not in the Bill but are certainly germane to it. What happens will be significant in terms of plant breeders' and farmers' rights in future.

The Minister may say that the clause is unworkable, but I hope that he will not dismiss the real concerns of hon. Members and others about market penetration by genetic engineering chemical companies that are buying up seed companies. I hope that he will not be dismissive either about my argument that we need to have some control to ensure that transnational companies that are not answerable to the Government or anyone else in this country do not distort the market to their benefit and to others' disbenefit.

If the Minister wants to find a better way of achieving my objective, I shall be happy to hear of it. I have explained what I am trying to achieve by moving the clause, and I hope that the Minister will accept the spirit that lies behind it. I hope also that he accepts that it relates to an important point. For me, it is perhaps the most important point: the interface between the chemical companies and the seed companies. The issue cannot be ignored and I hope that the Minister will respond to it.

Mr. Rooker

I shall not dismiss what the hon. Gentleman has said—far from it, because he has raised an important matter. He has attached the new clause to the Bill, but it has much more significant implications for the Department of Trade and Industry because the hon. Gentleman is seeking to deal with monopolies and market power.

The hon. Gentleman may not like it, but the plant breeder is entitled to take commercial advantage of the varieties that he has bred, discovered or developed. The breeder or breeders may, and generally have, invested considerable sums, time, resources and technical expertise. If there is a problem and for some reason a breeder is holding back or acting, as it is thought, against the public interest, clause 15 contains powers for the controller to issue a compulsory licence. If anyone thinks that there is a real problem, such a licence can be issued if it is thought that it is in the public interest to do so. If a breeder abuses the dominant position of the marketplace, appropriate powers are available to the controller.

The hon. Gentleman is on a much wider issue, in many ways, than those with which we are dealing. I do not knock that because he is right to raise it on this occasion. The new clause, however, is not suitable for inclusion in the Bill for both the narrow and the wider reasons that I have advanced.

Mr. Baker

I am grateful to the Minister for accepting that I have raised an important matter. I fully accept that it fits into a much wider arena than the Bill covers, the Bill being quite narrowly drawn on a narrow subject. The Minister has accepted, I think, that the matter I have raised relates to the Bill in a way, and that is important.

As the hon. Member for South-East Cambridgeshire (Mr. Paice) said, no compulsory licence has ever been issued. That worries me somewhat. My other concern is that big business is involved. There is an attempt by certain companies to corner the market in a monopolistic way. Furthermore, as I understand it, there is pressure from the American authorities to ensure that licences and advances are introduced and take place as soon as possible without the precautionary principle being applied. It is surely important for the Government to protect the interests of all involved in this country so that they might stand up to the pressures that will follow. I accept, however, the Minister's argument. The new clause represents an attempt to raise a matter of principle. I beg to ask leave to withdraw the motion.

Motion and clause, by leave, withdrawn.

Schedule I agreed to.

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