Market Trends of southeast asia seed Industry
Southeast Asia experiences increasing demand for cereals and oilseeds driven by the demand from livestock and feed industry
- In Southeast Asia, row crops are the major crop types cultivated to a large extent due to the increasing demand for food, feed, and industrial raw materials. In 2022, they accounted for 89.3% of the total area under crops in the region. The area showed a decline in 2019 due to adverse climatic conditions, and irregular rain patterns drove the decrease. However, the area increased by 0.3% between 2020 and 2022 to meet the rising demand.
- Cereal crops in the region cover the major area under cultivation. The area under cereals in 2022 accounted for 55.9 million hectares, in which rice held the largest cultivating area due to the high domestic demand for consumption as a staple food.
- In Vietnam, the total area harvested for rice accounted for 7.3 million ha in 2022, and the total production was reported at 42.8 million metric ton in 2021. According to USDA, due to population growth, the country needs an additional 150-200 thousand metric ton of rice every year to meet the domestic demand. This factor is expected to increase the sowing area under rice cultivation in the country.
- The oilseed acreage increased by 0.7% to 10.7 million hectares in 2022 from 2021. The increase in the area is due to increased demand from the livestock feed sector and reasonable prices in the domestic market. Among oilseeds, soybean is the major crop, which accounted for 550.9 thousand hectares in 2022.
- Pulses are among the major crops cultivated in the region, which were grown under are of 4.5 million hectares in 2022. The cultivation of pulses is expected to increase due to growing demand for consumption due to awareness about protein-rich food.
Cabbage, pumpkin and squash are vital vegetable crops in Southeast Asia, with a rising demand for disease resistant and quality attributes varieties to meet the higher consumer demand
- Cabbage is one of the most important vegetable crops in Southeast Asia. Different types of cabbages grown in the region are Vietnamese cabbages, Chinese cabbages, and Bak Choy. Varieties with disease tolerance (Alternaria leaf blight, wilts, and rots), quality traits such as the size of the head, the color of head leaves, the shape of the head, and other traits such as pest resistance and wider adaptability are the major traits widely adopted. Additionally, the size of heads and head weight are the major traits that have a significant demand, as they help in increasing yield productivity per hectare. Companies such as Limagrain and Rijk Zwaan are providing cabbage seeds with these traits to grow in adverse weather conditions with high quality.
- Pumpkin and squash are the major cucurbits widely grown in the region. The popular traits of the crop are quality attributes such as good shape, size, and color, longer storage life, disease resistance, especially against the geminin virus, and wider adaptability to different climatic and soil types. It is expected that in the future, disease resistance and quality attribute traits will be more widely available as companies develop new varieties with mildew tolerance and virus resistance, as well as uniformity, color, and flavor. Moreover, East-West Seed has varieties, such as 18880 F1 and Pujitha F1, which provide resistance to geminin and potyvirus in the crop. In the Philippines, Enza Zaden launched new seed varieties through a partnership with Vitalis Organic Seeds in 2021.
- Factors such as the introduction of new seed varieties with higher resistance to viruses, quality attributes, and high yield are expected to help in the growth of the vegetable seed market during the forecast period.
OTHER KEY INDUSTRY TRENDS COVERED IN THE REPORT
- Root and bulbs dominate vegetable cultivation in Southeast Asia as they are well-suited to the soil types found in the region
- Rice and corn dominate seed cultivation in Southeast Asia, with demand rising for disease-resistant and wider adaptability varieties
- Traditional breeding has the major share in the region for the demand towards open-pollinated varieties in row crops and hybrid breeding has higher share in vegetables for higher yield demand.
- Cabbage, pumpkin and squash are vital vegetable crops in Southeast Asia, with a rising demand for disease resistant and quality attributes varieties to meet the higher consumer demand
- Southeast Asia faces challenges in growing tomatoes and chili due to climatic conditions, leading to a high demand for disease-resistant and quality traits