Market Trends of asia-pacific grain seed Industry
The demand for grains and cereals as staple food consumption and the ideal climate for cultivation has made them the largest segment in the region
- Grains and cereals are the major crops cultivated in the region, as some of them are staple foods. The area under cultivation for these crops accounted for 80.8% of the total row crops area in the region in 2022. Favorable climatic conditions, higher consumption demand as a staple food, corn demand from the feed industries, and export potential drive farmers to grow more grains in the region. The area under grains and cereals accounted for 676.5 million hectares in 2022, which increased by 1.6% since 2017. Among the grains and cereals, rice is the major staple food crop cultivated in the region, as Asia-Pacific is the major global producer. In 2022, the area under rice cultivation was 143.2 million hectares, which increased from 138.0 million hectares in 2017. Abundant rainfall during the summer and monsoon seasons provides ideal conditions for rice growing in the region.
- Wheat is another major grain crop cultivated in the region. In 2022, Asia-Pacific wheat acreages accounted for 97.5 million hectares, an increase of 1.5% from 2017. India and China occupy the major cultivated areas in the region, with 3.1 million ha and 23.8 million hectares in 2022, respectively. Moreover, the acreage under corn cultivation was 67.6 million hectares in 2022, representing 10.0% of the total grain crop area. Factors driving the corn in terms of acreage are its ability to produce higher yields and greater demand from the processing and feed industries.
- Other major grain crops in the region are sorghum and barley. Australia is the major producer of barley. The area under barley cultivation increased by 23% from 2017 to 2022, increasing the demand for Australian barley globally for use in beer brewing and distilling and as a high-quality, clean animal feed.
Drought tolerant and disease resistance are the major traits helping in increasing the market growth in the region
- Corn is an important crop cultivated by growers because it is high-profiting. The growers have a high demand for traits such as weed control, improved grain quality, early maturity, lodging tolerance, resistance to leaf curl and early rots, and broader adaptability to different regions and climate conditions. For instance, companies such as BASF SE and Syngenta provide traits that help increase resistance to diseases such as early rots and leaf diseases and higher productivity. These seed varieties are witnessing high demand because no other sprays or alternatives exist to resist the diseases. Furthermore, the other major traits, such as color, height, and the number of grains per cob, are popular for high returns for growers.
- China and India are major rice producers globally and have a high demand for seeds resistant to diseases such as seedling blight, grain rot, and other bacterial diseases. For instance, brands such as Bayer AG's Arize Tej Gold provide resistance to seeding blight, and Vina Seed's Thein Uu8 variety provides resistance to different diseases such as blast and sheath blight. Furthermore, the crop is affected by different pests such as Tryporyza incertulas and Gundhi bugs.
- Drought tolerant trait is one of the major produced traits by seed companies as there have been changes in the climatic conditions which has led to high demand for this seed variety by the growers. For instance, in 2022, China suffered drier conditions than normal rainfall conditions, which is expected to help in increasing the demand for drought-tolerant seed varieties.
- Factors such as low water due to climatic conditions, pests, and diseases affecting the growth of crops are expected to help introduce new seed varieties during the forecast period.
OTHER KEY INDUSTRY TRENDS COVERED IN THE REPORT
- Hybrid breeding technique is the most utilized technique for developing grain seeds in the region due to its ability to develop desired quality seeds.