Bayer-Crop Science’s vegetable seed division is known as Nunhems. Nunhems announced today that they have aquired what is likely the world’s largest lettuce seed company – Paragon – with annual sales of over $8 million in what is thought to be a $60 lettuce seed industry (no one really knows, the seed companies keep that very private, so these are analyst’s guetimations based on publicly traded companies that do report sales). This will place Nunhems in direct competition with Semenis (Monsanto) who also has a huge lettuce division (and one with RoundUp Ready Lettuce in the pipeline). The only good news in this consilidation – I hear from the seed industry reps I know that Nunhems is not planning on investing in transgenic/GMO vegetable crops. Hope the rumor is true.
Reuter’s article on the buyout
