According
to the Ministry of Agriculture of the People’s Republic of China (MOA),
domestic-made seeds in China have surpassed the foreign competition in market
share for the first time.
To
increase the amount of domestically-produced seeds in the agriculture has been
a major goal of the authorities and the Party to enhance China’s sufficiently
in food and feed production. China is trying as much as they can to achieve
food-security, as a collapse in global food trade would mean the death of
millions of Chinese citizens. After all, every country tries to protect
themselves from food shortages.
Of
all 4,316 seed enterprises in China, 3,390 of them sell self-developed seeds,
with 84% of them selling seeds of major crops.
Overseas
companies are still dominating the non-major crops seeds. China imported
USD0.30 billion seeds in 2016, 61% of which were vegetable seeds. China's
planting area of broccoli was 0.05 million ha, 0.20% of the total growing area
of vegetables. However, broccoli seeds grown in these fields were all imported
from overseas market, reaching a market value of USD30.08 million.
Seeds
for carrots or spinach are also mostly covered by foreign suppliers, while rice
and wheat seeds can be covered by domestic production. After all, the country
is self-sufficient in rice, corn, wheat, cotton, and soybean seeds, and
produces 80 percent of the vegetable and fruit seeds which is demanded
Domestic
vegetable varieties are regaining market share, increasing from 54 percent in
2010 to 65 percent today. Still, he admits, foreign varieties enjoy a strong
advantage and dominate 70 to 90 percent market share in certain crop categories
including spinach, broccoli, carrots, peppers, red cherry tomatoes, and
eggplants.
Looking
at the market share of corn seed in China, domestic companies have gained 5%
market share from 2012 to 2017. Among those, the seed market share of fresh
corn has skyrocketed in the past years, gaining a share from Chinese
enterprises to 80%, up from merely 10% before.
China
is in general still sceptical towards genetical-modified (GM) crops, especially
when it comes to crops for human or animal nutrition. However, for GM crops not
used for food or feed like cotton, Chinese firms have significantly sped up in
the past and drive the foreign competition out of the market, leaving less than
5% market share for overseas products.
The
total market shares taken by overseas vegetables have also decreased from
around 20% in 2012 to 13% as of 2017. Largely demanded vegetables like tomatoes
and napa cabbages are now basically home-developed varieties and are grown in
extensive scale.
China’s seed market
In
the past decades, China’s seeds industry has been growing at a very fast pace
and is likely to continue so in the future.
The
middle kingdom is currently the second largest seed market in the world, right
after the USA. The annual planting amount of seeds is accounted for 12.5
million tonnes, granting a market value of USD17.2 billion. China has achieved
great success in the promotion of reform and innovation in the seed industry.
In
2016, China’s seed market reached a value of more than USD18 billion,
continuing the growths it overgone in previous years. However, when looking at
the crop growths in more detail, it shows that market value of non-major crops
is growing faster than the major crops in the country. Major crops cover corn,
rice, wheat, soybean, and cotton.
Last
year, the market share of major crops in China has reached 56%, while non-major
crops have caught up to 44%.
China’s
seed market used to be full of small and unqualified companies in the past.
Authorities in the country took actions against the uncoordinated market and
promoted modernization. This included actions to improve the legal system,
upgrade the protection of newly developed seed specifications, and R&D
enhancement.
As
a result of the efforts, the number of China’s seed companies has shrunk to
half the number of 2011 and the market concentration has increased
significantly. Another progress has been made in the investment into research
and development of Chinese producers, with expenses for R&D reached up to
7% of sales. Finally, the industry has become much more attractive as an
employer for domestic and international high-qualified researchers and workers,
leading to more innovation and a growing focus on product enhancement.
About CCM
CCM
is the leading market intelligence provider for China’s agriculture, chemicals,
food & ingredients and life science markets.
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