(Food-Beverage-News.Com, February 12, 2021 ) The global fruit and vegetable seeds market size is estimated to be valued USD 9.8 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach a value of USD 14.4 billion by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 8.2% during the forecast period. The growing demand for high value crops such as tropical fruits and leafy vegetables coupled with the increased demand for organic food products is expected to drive the growth of the market during the forecast period.
COVID-19 Impact on the Fruit and Vegetable Seeds Market
The outbreak of COVID-19 and the measures taken to control the pandemic have a crippling effect on the agriculture sector across the globe. Many countries have adopted several emergency measures to combat the COVID-19 crisis. These measures range from closing borders and public institutions, as well as isolating homes, communities, and the total lockdown of regions and the entire state. These mitigation measures have resulted in various disruptions in the functioning of markets and supply chains for agricultural inputs and products. Seeds are the starting point for agricultural production; therefore, during crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, seed delivery is among the essential services that must continue to support the current and subsequent production cycles.
However, issues related to the transportation of seeds either domestically or internationally, due to the reduced number of flights, fewer drivers, and the slow process of the necessary documentation, because of fewer staff, create specific problems for the seed sector. The ornamental crop industry has been severely affected due to the closure of garden centers deemed non-essential services and loss of contracts with supermarkets. The sale of seeds to amateur gardeners has stopped. This will impact some seed suppliers, especially those with left-over stock.
Key players in this market include BASF SE (Germany), Bayer AG (Germany), Groupe Limagrain (France)Corteva Agriscience (US), Syngenta Group (Switzerland), and Sakata Seed Corporation (Japan).
New product launches and partnerships were the key strategies adopted by the leading players in the fruit & vegetable seeds market with a view to improve their product line and presence in the market.
BASF SE (Germany) BASF SE is a chemical manufacturing company operating in the market segments of chemicals, performance products, functional materials & solutions, agricultural solutions, and oil & gas. BASF has 12 operating divisions with 86 strategic business units. The company provides a wide range of certified fruit & vegetable seeds and has constantly been investing in research of better-quality seeds. The company has been one of the pioneers in the transgenic and hybrid seeds market, with offerings specific to particular regions. Clearfield, Provisia, and Cultivance are the three main technologies adopted by the company for its seed production, which helps it offer disease-resistant, high-yielding seed varieties. In August 2018, the company acquired Bayer AG’s (Germany) vegetable seeds business which helped in enhancing BASF’s offerings within the segment
The company operates through subsidiaries and joint ventures in more than 90 countries through the functioning of six integrated production sites and 355 other production sites in Europe, Asia, Australia, the Americas, and Africa.
Bayer AG (Germany) Bayer AG is a leading research-intensive company operating in the pharmaceuticals, consumer health, crop science, and animal health segments. The company’s agricultural enterprise, Bayer AG, which operates through four segments—pharmaceuticals, consumer health, crop science, and service functions and other. The company offers fruits and vegetable seeds through its two operating business segments: crop protection/seeds and environmental science. The recent acquisition of Monsanto (US) in June 2018 has boosted Bayer’s agriculture business with innovative solutions in the crop protection and seed manufacturing industries.
Bayer’s manufacturing facilities operate in 130 sites spread across 34 countries. It has a worldwide sales and distribution network in over 120 countries. Its key locations include Germany, France, Singapore, Brazil, and the US. Its major research centers of the seed units are located in Belgium, the Netherlands, and the US. The company operates through various subsidiaries such as Bayer CropScience Holding SA Lyon (France), Bayer CropScience Holdings Limited Cambridge (UK), Bayer CropScience NV Diegem (Belgium), Bayer CropScience S.r.l (Italy), and Bayer Australia Limited (Australia).
