The EU on Monday approved a $130 billion mega-merger of US agri-chemicals giants Dow Chemical and DuPont, paving the way for major consolidation in a sensitive sector for farmers and the environment.

The decision by antitrust regulators was subject to Dupont selling "major parts" of its global pesticide business, but "commitments submitted by Dow and Dupont address these concerns in full," the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, said in a statement.