Christchurch, New Zealand
November 20, 2023
New Zealand's 'Garden City' is welcoming seed industry delegates from around the world for the 2023 Asian Seed Congress, taking place at the Ta Pae Convention Center 20-24 November.
From left: Dr. John Roche, Chief Science Adviser, Ministry of Primary Industires; Charlotte Connoley, NNZGSTA President; Dr. Manish Patel, APSA President;
Asia-Pacific's premier seed industry meeting was formally inaugurated during a spectacular ceremony in the exhibition hall of the newly-opened events facility this morning.
Hosted in New Zealand for the first time in the Asian Seed Congress’ 28-year history, the for-members and by-invitation-only event will feature business meetings, entertainment, a trade exhibition and technical sessions.
Congress will formally conclude with the Annual General Meeting of the event’s conveners, the Asia and Pacific Seed Alliance (APSA), scheduled to convene on Thursday, November 23.
The location of the ASC rotates among APSA member countries yearly in cooperation with a National Organizing Committee (NOC) of the designated host country, which is led this year by the New Zealand Grain and Seed Industry Association (NZGSTA) and Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI).
The ASC has also been hosted in Thailand seven times (five times in Bangkok, once in Pattaya and the inaugural event was in Chiang Mai in 1994); as well as in Manila, the Philippines (three times); Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (twice) and once each in Brisbane, Australia; Shanghai, Macau and Kaohsiung in China; Goa, New Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad in India; Chiba and Kobe in Japan; Jakarta and Bali in Indonesia; Seoul and Incheon in South Korea and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. See full list of past ASCs here.
In addition to APSA’s AGM, private business meetings, a trade exhibition and technical sessions (see below), this year’s meeting will also host a special networking session of the APSA Young Club. As part of efforts to enable and uplift the “future generation” of seed professionals, the meeting will link up young professionals attending this year’s Congress with the aim of tackling a number of concerning challenges affecting seed and agriculture globally.
EDVs to set tone in intricate realm of seed industry innovation and trade
Following the Inaugural Ceremony, Congress Workshop formally commences on November 20 afternoon in a session that will set the theme and tone for the rest of the week. The seminar will feature multiple presentations from breeders and regulators on the topic of Essentially Derived Varieties or (EDVs)”. Featuring perspectives from New Zealand and around the world, the workshop will explore critical faucets and developments surrounding the intricate and sensitive subject of EDVs, which refers to plant varieties that are predominately derived from another/other plant varieties, and thus carrying implications related to crop seed intellectual property, or more specifically plant variety protection (PVP)
The workshop will provide a comprehensive examination of EDVs, focusing on international and New Zealand regulations and practices, the perspective of breeders’ organizations, and the recent transformative developments in the field, such as the adoption of new Explanatory Notes (EXN) by the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV).
The timing of the Congress Workshop couldn’t be more apropos, considering the recent groundbreaking decision by UPOV Council during its 57th Session on October 27 to adopt new EXN on EDVs. What this means for the global seed industry will be clarified during the Congress Workshop
Carrying the torch further, APSA’s three Special Interest Groups (SIGs) and two Standing Committees (SCs) will host technical sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday, facilitating learning and discussion on a spectrum of pivotal subjects. These extend to modern crop cultivation techniques and technologies; the evolution of plant variety protection laws; regulatory oversight of genome-edited product strategies for safeguarding intellectual property during seed production and transportation; and innovations in breeding technology, including CRISPR and marker-assisted breeding for staple crops. Session dialogue will also devote significant attention to the profound relevance of biodiversity, breeders’, and farmers’ rights, examining these aspects in the context of international treaties such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA).
Furthermore, discussions will delve deep into the intricate world of phytosanitary affairs, extending to timely developments, principles, and collaborative efforts to assure healthy seed movements, including digitalization initiatives such as electronic phytosanitary certification, testing, pest list compliance, third-party laboratory accreditation and the multilateral Systems Approach. These discussions underscore the importance of international standards and measures to mitigate biosecurity challenges while optimizing plant health management.
Leading technical discussions will feature representatives from a multitude of contributing organizations, including APSA, International Seed Federation (ISF), CropLife Asia, American Seed Trade Association (ASTA), Asia Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutions (APAARI), UPOV, New Zealand’s Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, the Singapore Food Agency, Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences (YAAS), International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Plantum (Dutch association for plant reproduction material), SEMAE (French Interprofessional Organisation for Seeds and Plants), Seed Science Center of Iowa State University, and a number of private seed enterprise and regulatory organizations from across Asia, the Pacific, and beyond.
This rich exchange of ideas and expertise sets the stage for the Asian Seed Congress 2023 to be a pivotal moment in shaping the future of the seed industry, fostering innovation, collaboration, and a comprehensive understanding of its multifaceted landscape.
New Zealand maintains regional lead in sowing seed supply
The host country of the 2023 Asian Seed Congress is a prominent regional and global player in the movement of various types of sowing seeds. Following are some statistical insights as originally summarized and reported in Volume 29, Issue 4 of Asian Seed and Planting Material, APSA’s official publication:
From July 2022 to June 2023, New Zealand exported a total 44,546 tonnes of sowing seed worth $146 million dollars, equating to a 10% year-on-year drop in quantity, and a 2.6% decline in value when compared to the previous 12-month period – though on par with pre- Covid (2018-2019) values of 44,735 t of seed declared at $144mn, respectively. Despite the overall decline in exports, certain categories of seed enjoyed particularly strong demand in the most recent four-quarter focus period; namely, fescue seed (HS 120923) grew by 25% y-o-y in value to $6.6mn from $5.2mn, and 35.8% in volume, from 2,216 t to 3,009 t. Vegetable seeds (HS 120991) continue to be New Zealand’s most valuable export market, worth about $63mn in the latest annual trading period, which represents 43% of total export receipts, despite being only 23% (10,211 t) of the total volume of the country’s exports during the period. When measuring by volume, the most significant seed export category was ryegrass seed (HS 120925) – 24,262 t of seed accounting for 54.4% of all he total outflow of sowing seeds, despite being only the second most valuable category -- $45.7mn worth of this type of seed claiming 31% of the export market.
From July 2022 to June 2023, New Zealand imported no less than 237,216 tonnes of sowing seed. Valued at US$142.3 million, the influx of this seed fell by 20% y-o-y in terms of quantity, declining 4% in value. As with exports, these values reflect a stabilizing trend following strong pent-up demand realized in 2021-2022. Wheat and meslin seed (HS 100191) is by far New Zealand’s top sowing seed import category – 207,619 tonnes imported represents 87.5% of the total volume of imported seed in 2022-2023, at the same time claiming only 63% of the market ($89.5mn of the total). and though the quantity
of vegetable seeds imported (402 tonnes) is a minuscule fraction of the total quantity of seed imported, this premium seed was valued at about $18.4mn to claim 13% of New Zealand’s seed import market. The other key import market for New Zealand is barley seed (HS 100310) – 22,701 tonnes of this type of seed accounted for just under 10% of total imported volume; worth $8.3mn barley seed represented about 5.8% of the market. Indeed, there was particularly higher-than-average demand for barley seed in 2022-2023, when consignments surged in quantity year-on-year by about 36% at the same time
growing in value by 73%. Other categories that sustained strong influx during the period include fescue seed (421 tonnes @ +144% y-o-y & $2.3mn @ +130%); forage plant seeds (686 t, +79%, $12.6mn, +86%) and clover seed (396 t, +33%, $2.5mn, +75%).
APAC food crop seed trade: 2022 in numbers
Data analysed by Asian Seed through to the end of last year indicates a number of peculiar trends. Depending on various factors, categorizations, and definitions (import vs. export, types of seeds tracked, etc.), the global sowing seed market in 2022 could be valued at anywhere between US$40 billion and US$60 billion, while Asia-Pacific region accounts for approximately 20% of the global total, according to best estimates. Though the region’s countries as a whole import more than they export, barring a handful of seed surplus countries in the region, the trend has started to shift in recent years for various
crop seed categories as more and more countries increase their technical capability and capacity to not only sustain their own seed supply, but export surplus to the rest of the world.
To better clarify the Asia-Pacific region’s seed industry, APSA has analysed official direct and mirror data tracked through World Trade Organization Customs declarations for several key sowing seed categories, including maize, wheat, and various types of vegetable, ornamental, and forage seed crops. Following are some trends observed in the region and beyond.
Maize
In terms of value, 2022 was a strong year for global and regional maize sowing seed (HS 100510) exports. Last year, the gross value of outbound maize seed consignments worldwide was $3.51 billion, representing a 19.3% increase from 2021’s $2.94 billion. Top exporters included France (approximately 25% global market share), Hungary (8.3%), the US (8.2%), Romania (7%), and Austria (6.2%). In the Asia-Pacific region, 2022 saw an 11.8% increase over 2021, with the value of outbound maize seed consignments increasing to $241.3 million from $215.7 million in the previous year. APAC’s maize seed export market is dominated by three countries: Thailand (2.7%), India (1.7%), and Turkey (1.4%), together accounting for about 85% of the region’s total maize seed exports in terms of value.
In terms of volume, export data highlights a contrasting story; last year saw an 8.3% dip in quantities of maize seed exported from all countries around the world, dropping from 2.6 million tonnes in 2021 to 2.38 million tonnes in 2022. In the APAC, the year-onyear reduction in maize seed exports was significantly more extreme, falling by about 69% to 406,198 tonnes, which is about a 17% share of the world’s maize seed exports. Measured by tonnage, South Africa (17.4% of the world) and Poland (13.3%) were the world’s leading exporters of maize seed, while Vietnam and Pakistan were APAC’s leading maize seed exporters, accounting for 6.9% and 5.8% of the world’s seed exports in 2022, respectively.
Veg, Flower, and Forage
Although Asia-Pacific’s seed trade is dominated by field crop seeds (maize, wheat, paddy, etc.) when measured by consignment volumes, vegetable, ornamental and forage crop seeds dominate in terms of market value. In 2022, Asia-Pacific region countries exported no less than 124,499 tonnes of HS 1209 seeds, valued at just over US$1.2 billion. These include seeds of various types of vegetable, ornamental, horticultural, and cover crops but exclude oilseeds, melon seeds, beet seeds, sugar cane, nuts, paddy, wheat, maize, cotton, and other field crops, seed potatoes, tubers, and bulbs. Overall,
the region experienced a 5% year-on-year contraction in export value compared to the peak of $1.268 billion in 2021, while seed volume declined significantly by 32.5% from the 2021 benchmark of 184,501 tonnes. These Asia and Pacific countries and territories exported 11.6% less seed volume compared to the average annual export volume of 140,777 tonnes between 2018 and 2021. These figures indicate pent-up demand for APAC seeds as pandemic-era restrictions eased in 2021. However, most countries in the region struggled to sustain seed outflows. Notable exceptions include Israel, Thailand, Indonesia, and Laos, where both value and volume exhibited growth. India, China, and Singapore performed better in terms of value but contracted in volume. Australia, Jordan, and Sri Lanka exported more seeds in 2022, although their corresponding values declined.
Wheat
Wheat seeds are traded under two HS categories: HS 100111, which specifically includes seeds of Durham wheat, and HS 100191, which encompasses seeds of meslin and non- Durham wheat. From these two categories, APAC countries in 2022 exported 63,620 tonnes (3% of the global total declared exported tonnage, or 2.1 million tonnes of exported wheat seed declared). These seeds were valued at $80.7 million (9.6% of the global market, which was valued at $839 million — $710 million of HS 100191 and $129 million of HS 100111). APAC’s share of the global wheat seed import market was much higher than that for exports. The region’s countries imported no less than 763,594 tonnes (26.4% of wheat seed imported globally, or 2.89 million tonnes), worth $328.5 million (28% of the global market, worth $1.16 billion — HS100191 accounting for just over a billion of this sum).
Millets Seeds
Though millets aren’t a dominant trading category, 2023 is the International Year of Millets, and Asia – particularly India – is a dominant global player. In terms of value, 2022 was a robust year for the overall millet sowing seed (HS 1008210) export market. Last year, the gross value of outbound millet seed consignments was $27.6 million globally, representing a 7% increase year-on-year from 2021’s grossing of $25.8 million. In Asia and the Pacific, however, value, which represented 43.6% of the entire global millet seed market, contracted year-on-year by 3%, falling to just over $12 million in 2022 from $12.4 million in 2021.
Disclaimer
*APSA, NZGSTA and Asian Seed & Planting Material make no guarantees about the accuracy of the data or analyses presented in this report. The raw data referenced in this report was originally sourced from the International Trade Centre (ITC) Trade Map (trademap.org) database and based on calculations from Statistics New Zealand (stats.govt.nz). Sorted and analysed by Asian Seed editorial staff, the data summary can be downloaded by APSA members via members channels.
**While HS 120929 includes various types forage plant seeds, it specifically excludes seeds of cereals, sugar beets, alfalfa, clovers, fescue, Kentucky blue grass, and ryegrass, which have their own dedicated HS categories; and though HS 120930 covers sowing seeds of various herbaceous plants cultivated mainly for flowers, and HS 120991 covers most types of vegetable seeds for sowing, various other types of vegetable and flower seeds are declared and tracked under the broad HS 120999 category, which includes a wide variety of seeds, fruits and spores intended for sowing.
***At time of press, available seed trade data for the entire region during the current calendar and fiscal years was incomplete and thus inconclusive. Hence, the focus on 2022 for Asia-Pacific region as a whole. Asian Seed Magazine publishes regular regional analysis of trade, which typically requires a six-to-eight-month lag time to be able to incorporate data from most countries in the region.
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