Chinese chemical seed treatment market to grow at the CAGR of 11.9% during 2014-2020

According to the report "Chinese Chemical Seed Treatment Market Trends and Forecasts 2014-2020", the China Chemical seed treatment market was worth around $130.7 million in 2015 and is expected to cross $229.4 million by 2020 growing at the CAGR of 11.9% during the forecast period 2015-2020.

China is the second largest seed market in the world, annually using roughly 12.5 million tons of planting seed. About 65% of the Chinese market for seeds is accounted for by hybrid corn, hybrid rice, and vegetable and fruit seeds. China is self-sufficient in rice, corn, wheat, cotton and soybean seeds, in addition to producing 80% of the vegetable and fruit seeds consumed domestically. In a shift from traditional methods, farmers have limited their reliance on saved seeds and have started using government subsidy programs for purchasing commercial seeds of higher quality.

China market holds 39.8% of the Asia-Pacific market revenue by 2020. The China market is expected to have a high CAGR of 11.9% due to increasing demand for high yield crop products in the region and rising organic crop production, especially in China, India, Malaysia, Japan and Singapore.

Within this application category, insecticides constitute the largest sub-category, with an estimated 2015 share of 54.1% of chemical seed treatment demand. However, fungicide seed treatments are slated to witness the fastest CAGR of 12.3% during 2015-2020 in reaching a projected demand of US$82.5 million by 2020.

Wheat is the leading type of crop for chemical seed treatment applications in China, estimated to account for 56.8% of the total demand in 2015. In terms of CAGR between 2015 and 2020, however, demand for seed treatment applications in rice is expected to be the second fastest crop among all crop types at 12.6% CAGR, Asia remains the hub of rice production, with many countries in the region growing more than one crop per season.

China seed industry is highly fragmented and mostly dependent on public institutions for research and development. Inconsistent seed quality and minimal farmer servicing by seed companies has limited yield growth. Rising food demand and limited arable land in China have made this a pressing issue.

The growth in seed treatment industry is largely fuelled by increasing farm sizes and rising concerns over its quality and safety due to harmful effects of chemicals to environment. Thus, some major drivers of the seed treatment industry are rise in the seed costs, crop rotations getting shorter and greater use of multi-component products. The poor farmers in China are adopting organic techniques which have a lower environment impact which is driving the market.

Major restraints identified are regulatory structure intervention regarding entry, concerns for the environment and regulation of seed treatment market. Major opportunities are fastest growth rate for biological agents and China has a fastest growth rate in seed treatment market.

Some of the key companies in the market are Adama, Novozymes, Chemtura, Syngenta and Others. The key players are focusing to expand their business in Asia-pacific regions. The leading players in this market adopted various strategies to strengthen the market opportunities and increase their market shares. Acquisitions, agreements & joint ventures are the major strategies adopted by major players.