Global seed market grow by 10% to $32 billion

Despite a challenging financial year, the value of the global proprietary seed market grew by over 10% to reach a value of nearly $32B USD in 2009. The Context Network has just released its Multi Client study, 2010 Global Seed Market Database (GSMD) which shows that since its 2001 estimate, the value of the global seed market has expanded by roughly $18B USD.

Context senior associate and chief analyst on the report Mark Nelson said, "2009 was a year of resetting in the seed industry. Commodity prices settled down from the previous years highs. Growers paid much more attention to expenditures. That, in combination with a competitive seed environment, resulted in flat or no growth in many seed segments. However, the rapid adoption or use of trait technology, especially in the Americas, drove growth in broad acre crops such as corn and soybeans."

Nelson said, "In corn, we report an aggressive increase in the use of traits and stacked traits with a very compressed, rapid increase in adoption. Just introduced a year ago, stacks in corn traits are expected to reach the 80% adoption level in the next 2-3 years. Our analysis shows dramatic adoption of traits and stacked traits in corn in South America, led by Brazil. It has been a more rapid rate of adoption than occurred in North America with more adoption expected in the next couple of years.

Other sectors of the seed industry did not see the growth that corn, soybean and rice showed. Horticultural crops, flowers and turf were flat to down. However, the global vegetable seed market value is growing. Released along with GSMD, Context issued its second edition of Major Vegetable Crops 2020 Outlook. Context estimates the commercial vegetable seed sector will more than double from a current market value of $3.8b to $8.0b in 2020, reflecting a 7% compound annual growth rate (CAGR).

Context senior associate Kishore Rao said, "Many had anticipated approval for Bt brinjal in India. However, regardless of the progress of and constraints on transgenic biotechnology, use of GM in vegetables, particularly in developing world markets, is seen as being inevitable. Despite current public opposition to GM technology, environmental, quality and production efficiency benefits will eventually result in broad scale adoption of the technology. Vegetable consumption worldwide is increasing along with seed volume and value. In addition, demand for higher quality and more variety in vegetables is increasing."