Top 20 Chinese Seed Companies in 2017

* Sources of data from the annual report of 2016 and 2017 of listed seed companies, converted to $ at the exchange rate of the last business day of the fiscal year. Business income refers to the seed sales of listed seed companies in 2017 (foreign exchange rate from PoundSterling Live)

2017 was a very important and a special year to the Chinese seed industry due to the dramatic industry development and business changes, and could be also a tough year to most enterprises.

The year 2017 was an important and a special year for the Chinese seed industry owing to the dramatic industry development and business changes, and could be also a tough year for most enterprises.

The market volume of the Chinese seed industry has sustained growth for many years. The market volume is acknowledged by all statistical analyses as having exceeded 100 billion yuan, ranking second in the world, only next to the USA. In 2017, according to an official report, the number of seed enterprises fell to 4,300. Long Ping High-Tech stepped into the world’s seed market and surged to rank among the world’s top 10 seed companies. Through fine-quality breeding research programs, more than 100 fine varieties were sorted out from among four major crops. The use of Chinese breeds greatly increased in the year, while the policy and legal environment had also improved.

At the same time, it must be clearly seen that the Chinese seed industry is confronted with serious difficulties, such as higher level of stock, blowout of large varieties, intensified market competition, occurrences of extreme weather, pest and disease damages, as well as shortened life cycle of product varieties. No more than 15% of enterprises in the seed industry could maintain a stable business performance, although a growth against the trend was achieved by companies such as Long Ping High-Tech, Win-All Hi-Tech Seed, Beijing Lantron Seed and Hongxiang Seed. However, most companies were stuck in a difficult situation.

The upgrade of hybrid rice and industry updates brought exponential growth to Long Ping High-Tech and Win-All Hi-Tech Seed, enabling the two companies to go far ahead of others. A lookback at hybrid corn indicates that 2017 might be the darkest moment just before dawn. In 2017, more than 3,000 varieties were either registered or approved for use in extended regions, which were, however, highly homogenized. Denghai Seed was encumbered by the continuous hot weather, while enterprises in the northeast ran into difficulties for ineffable reasons.

The methods of grain collection and the storage system have been reformed. In the past, the government would purchase whatever the farmers planted. Nowadays, farmers plant what is needed by the market, which decides the action taken by the seed breeding enterprises, who ought to start to listen to the voices of consumers. High-quality hybrid rice and high-quality wheat are much sought after in the market, and many corn seed breeders have started exploring fine varieties.

It is a relief and delight to see several performance results in 2017. One good result is the satisfactory performance of Long Ping High-Tech, Win-All Hi-Tech Seed, Beijing Lantron Seed and Hubei Kangnong Seed, attributable to their continued input on research, while the performance of Denghai Seed, Beijing Huanong Weiye Seed, Gansu Wugu Seed and Hoping Seeds has appeared to rebound. The other good performance has been from the back-end service that has now received unprecedented close attention from the market. Following the first trial operation by MLLINKS and MAP (Sinochem MAP), Kingenta Jinfeng Cooperative and Long Ping Modern Agricultural Technology Service have also started adopting the new approach. On the other side, NONGFENQI and GAGO are receiving favor from capital investments. 


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