The Agricultural Industry accounts for one of the most important industries in the world. With a large market value, this industry employs more than one billion people worldwide contributing 2.4 trillion USD. This market is led by the top 10 largest agricultural companies in the world.
When it comes to agriculture the growth in this sector for raising incomes is two to four times more among the poorest when compared to other sectors. Around 2018 the global gross domestic product of this industry was four per cent. This is equivalent to more than 25% of GDP in some developing countries.
In the same year, the full-time or part-time jobs generated due to the agricultural and food-related sector is 22.0 million. This single-handedly accounts for 11.0 per cent of the total U.S employment. With all this happening around the globe the agricultural sector is evolving day by day.
A few trends are expected to impact the global agricultural market by 2025. This includes the adoption of new technologies such as farming digitization, development of mechanised harvesting tools, sustainable farming methodologies and sustainable techniques for food security.
In this article, we will be covering the largest agricultural companies that contribute to the world market through sales and production.
According to a survey conducted in the year 2020, Cargill is ranked as the number one agricultural company in the world. This organisation belongs to an American privately held global food corporation. The company is based in Minnetonka, Minnesota, and incorporated in Wilmington, Delaware.
It was founded in the year 1865. Currently, the company holds a revenue of 114.69 billion with 166,000 employees.
Founded in 1863, Bayer is a multinational pharmaceutical and life sciences company. It is based in Germany and is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. The company is also one of the leading crop science companies. Bayer has more than 35 research sites and 175 breeding sites globally.
Bayer CropScience develops genetically modified crops and pesticides. The company holds a revenue of USD 51.18 billion with around 103,824 employees.
John Deere is an American-based corporation which manufactures agricultural, construction, and forestry machinery, diesel engines, drivetrains, lawn care equipment and other heavy equipment. The company was founded in the year 1837 with headquarters in Moline, Illinois, U.S. John Deere has around 74,412 employees with 37.35 billion revenue.
4. The Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (ADM)
The Archer Daniels Midland Company is a food processing and commodities trading corporation based in America. On a worldwide basis, ADM operates more than 270 plants and 420 crop procurement facilities. In these plants, cereal grains and oilseeds are processed into products used in food, beverage, industrial and animal feed markets.
Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois ADM was founded in 1902. With 32,300 employees ADM has revenue of USD 64.34 billion.
Syngenta largely controls its market by producing agrochemicals and seeds and is based in Basel, Switzerland. The company ranks third in seeds and biotechnology sales with eight primary product lines which it develops markets and sells worldwide. For pesticides, it has five selective product lines.
It includes selective herbicides, non-selective herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, and seed care. With approximately 48,000 employees the company was founded in the year 2000.
6. DuPont
In terms of sales, DuPont is considered one of the world’s largest companies. The company generated USD 21.57 billion making it one of the top agricultural companies in the world. DuPont was founded in the year 2017 with headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.
DuPont is basically a merger of Dow Chemical and E.I. du Pont de Nemours and company on August 31, 2017. It is reported to be worth as much as $130 billion.
Nutrien is the third largest producer of Nitrogen Fertiliser and the largest producer of Potash in the world. It was founded in 2018 with headquarters in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and Canada. Currently Nutrien holds approximately 20,000 employees with a revenue of USD 19.6 billion.
Other competitors include Mosaic Company, Yara International ASA, and CF industries.
8. BASF
The German-based multinational chemical company is the largest chemical producer in the world. The BASF subsidiaries and joint ventures in more than 80 countries operate six integrated production sites. It also holds 390 other production sites in Europe, Asia, Australia, America, Australia, and Africa.
The company was founded in 1865 with headquarters in Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF has a revenue of around 6.8 billion USD and it holds approximately 117,628 employees.
BASF agricultural products include chemicals, plastics, performance chemicals, catalysts, crop technology, crude oil, natural gas exploration and production.
