Find the latest information regarding import and export seeds and a repository for seeds market and commerce releases

Wednesday, March 08, 2006

Cereali: senza intese di filiera il made in Italy non si salva

È ancora prematuro stilare un bilancio in termini produttivi della campagna in corso, per poter verificare gli effetti del primo anno di applicazione della riforma della politica agricola comune; tuttavia sulla base dei dati relativi alle semine e della comparazione con le domande di aiuto possiamo elaborare le prime ipotesi degli orientamenti colturali aziendali funzionali alle strategie commerciali. Durante la scorsa campagna nel comparto del grano duro, dove la produzione è stata abbondante, si sono innescate le maggiori tensioni nella definizione dei prezzi, alimentate anche dalle massicce importazioni, favorite dal gap euro/dollaro, che hanno comportato una rivisitazione delle strategie produttive aziendali, avviando programmi di diversificazione produttiva più compatibili con le dinamiche mercantili e di qualità. In questo senso, le superfici sottratte al grano duro (precedentemente ingessate dalla corresponsione dell’aiuto) rese disponibili per altre programmazioni colturali costituiscono oggi un valore aggiunto all’impresa agricola e consentono maggiore flessibilità di mercato in termini di contrattazioni. Certo, una volta acquisite le effettive produzioni e verificati i relativi standard qualitativi, potremo avviare programmi di miglioramento delle tecniche agronomiche diversificate per coltura e area geografica. In ogni caso, anche in questa campagna sconteremo in parte le logiche fondate sulla precedente pac, che hanno progressivamente allontanato il confronto tra produzione e mercato, dove gli interlocutori acquirenti contavano comunque su un quantitativo di prodotto nazionale certo, al di là delle caratteristiche qualitative, da miscelare con altri prodotti di provenienza estera. Questo rapporto ha finito per falsare l’intero sistema mercantile, tant’è che nelle ultime campagne le quotazioni si sono avvicinate al prezzo d’intervento pubblico. Inoltre, nella determinazione delle quotazioni spesso non interviene una contrattazione che tenga conto della domanda-offerta, delle caratteristiche legate ai parametri qualitativi, dei servizi, della logistica, ma è frutto di consultazioni all’interno di commissioni camerali di commercio che esercitano una funzione ormai datata.
Nuove logiche di filiera
Tutto ciò va ricondotto all’interno di logiche diverse dove nell’ambito della filiera vengano riconosciuti ruolo e pari dignità a tutti i soggetti che concorrono a determinarne l’economia e la competitività su scala internazionale. In questo senso Coldiretti ha già avviato rapporti con talune industrie acquirenti per tracciare insieme una sorta di disciplinare produttivo che dia orientamenti sul territorio in termini di tipologia delle sementi le cui varietà siano più rispondenti alle diversità territoriali. In questa fase abbiamo acquisito indicazioni e parametri dalle imprese molitorie circa la tipologia di semole e farine a seconda della loro utilizzazione, per poter individuare i grani idonei a soddisfare le caratteristiche richieste da tale mercato, che fino a oggi ha trovato approvvigionamento, in maniera preponderante, nelle produzioni estere.
A partire da questa campagna, attraverso l’analisi di alcuni campioni individuati a livello territoriale, forniti dalle imprese che hanno sposato l’iniziativa, vorremmo avviare una sorta di programmazione produttiva finalizzata, attraverso intese di filiera, a stabilire specifiche varietà e tecniche agronomiche compatibili, in un contesto che dia certezza in termini di collocazione e remunerazione del prodotto. La nuova pac ci consente di ipotizzare percorsi diversi rispetto al passato, finalizzati alla valorizzazione delle produzioni «made in Italy» e alla modernizzazione dell’impresa agricola nel governo dei processi produttivi e di mercato. Coldiretti ritiene che l’attuale patrimonio sementiero costituisca una base di partenza per poter concretizzare una seria politica di filiera a tutela dell’origine delle produzioni, della qualità ecc.; tuttavia, a nostro avviso, è indispensabile definire e attivare una politica sementiera nazionale per razionalizzare le risorse e coordinare l’attività di ricerca, selezione e tracciabilità delle sementi con l’obiettivo di ridurre la dipendenza dall’estero a garanzia della catena alimentare contro le produzioni ogm. Occorre tutelare altresì le produzioni biologiche, che rappresentano una crescita economica per quelle imprese agricole che hanno investito e saputo coniugare prodotto e armonizzazione ambientale, rispondono agli interessi della collettività e operano compatibilmente con gli orientamenti comunitari in materia di agroambiente.
Un confronto costruttivo
Per rilanciare prospettive concrete nel settore occorre avviare un confronto costruttivo tra produttori, sementieri e industria acquirente, concertando politiche di filiera nazionali finalizzate alla qualità, che comunque dovrà trovare giusta remunerazione in un contesto di maggiore distinzione e valorizzazione da parte del mercato. In questo senso, dobbiamo creare un sistema di garanzia della qualità dal seme al prodotto finale, credibile e in linea con quanto richiesto dal consumatore, che costituisce il volano finanziario determinante per l’economia dell’intera filiera. Potremo ottenere un aiuto armonizzando seriamente tutte le misure che la nuova pac ci mette a disposizione, dalla condizionalità all’articolo 69, alla nuova programmazione regionale dei Psr. La finalizzazione delle nuove misure della pac e una maggiore trasparenza nella formazione dei prezzi saranno determinanti al fine di consolidare le aree di produzione, sviluppare le filiere e valorizzare le produzioni «made in Italy».
Articolo su http://sementi.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, January 26, 2005

Monsanto predicts $1.2B profit from seeds business

Monsanto Co. expects to generate $1.2 billion in gross profit for its seeds and traits business in its 2005 fiscal year, the company said Tuesday.
Hugh Grant, chairman, president and chief executive, said the growth of the seeds and traits business will be come more pronounced and more important to the overall growth of the company as Monsanto becomes primarily a seeds and traits company. Grant and other Monsanto executives made the statements at an investor conference.
"The seeds and traits business represents the future of Monsanto, both in terms of our business offerings and growth opportunities," Grant said. "With the gross profit for the seeds and traits business surpassing that of our Roundup herbicide franchise this fiscal year, the accelerated growth in our seeds and traits will drive our business in the next few years."
Carl Casale, executive vice president of North America Commercial Operations, said one of the most important growth areas is increased use of the company's biotech traits as well as increased use of seed with multiple traits, such as YieldGard Plus corn, which protects against the corn borer and corn rootworm.
Casale said the potential U.S. market for its Roundup Ready corn is likely to reach more than 50 million acres, much higher than it had earlier predicted.
Terry Crews, chief financial officer, said the company expects to have close to $100 million in free cash flow for its 2003 calendar year, up from its $50 million to $100 million guidance earlier this year.

Monday, January 17, 2005

E-commerce Online at ASTA Conferences

WASHINGTON, DC-What are the effects of genetic advances in corn, sorghum, and soybeans on the seed and food industries? What are forthcoming crop applications of modern biotechnology? What is the European perspective on biotech crops? How reliable are tests used to detect biotech material in seed? These and other key questions about biotech crops will be addressed at the American Seed Trade Association’s (ASTA’s) Corn & Sorghum and Soybean Seed Research Conferences on Wed.-Fri., Dec. 6-8, 2000 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago. The Soybean Seed Research Conference on Dec. 6 (1-2:15 PM) will feature presentations on the public soybean genome project by Randy Shoemaker, Ph.D., USDA-ARS research geneticist at Iowa State University, and enhanced soybean oil composition in terms of nutrition and shelf life by Robert Reeves, president of the Institute of Shortening and Edible Oils. Dec. 7 (8-10:40 AM) will feature a joint soybean and corn & sorghum session on the science and U.S. regulation of biotech crops by Stanley Abramson, chair of the environmental group at Arent Fox Kintner Plotkin & Kahn, PLLC, and the European perspective on biotechnology by Pierre Deloffre of Bonduelle, a French vegetable product manufacturer. Abramson will give an overview of the U.S. regulatory framework for biotech foods, summarize the National Academy of Sciences’ report on genetically modified pest-protected plants, and discuss current events related to Bacillus thurigiensis (Bt) crops.Modern biotechnology will be center stage at the Corn & Sorghum Seed Research Conference on Dec. 8 (8-10:40 AM). Topics will include bioinformatics¾the composition and analysis of data about plant genetic structures, evaluation of tests that detect biotech material in non-biotech seed or food, consumer and policy issues, and the use of biotechnology to improve corn genetics, the purity of corn hybrids, and corn starch content. The latter applications will be discussed by Major Goodman, Ph.D., corn geneticist at North Carolina State University, Marc Albertsen, Ph.D., director of research at Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., and Peter Keeling, Ph.D., director of research at ExSeed, Inc., respectively.Pat Schnable, Ph.D., professor of agronomy at Iowa State University, will discuss bioinformatics, which enables scientists to predict the expression and function of genes in crops. For example, by understanding the way in which the Bt protein is expressed and regulated in Bt corn, researchers may be able to instruct the corn when to turn Bt expression on and off with the use of a “switch,” such as an ecologically benign chemical treatment. Schnable will also discuss a new genetic mapping technology that greatly reduces the time and cost involved with locating genes responsible for specific traits in plants.Alan Hawkins, Ph.D., director of research for Garst Seed Co., will discuss three methods used for detecting the presence of biotech material in traditional seed or food. Methods include testing for traits that affect the plant, such as herbicide tolerance; testing for novel proteins produced by the plant, such as Bt; and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods to detect the DNA sequence of novel gene(s).Karil Kochenderfer, director of International Trade and Environmental Affairs, Grocery Manufacturers Association, will discuss new survey results on consumer acceptance of biotechnology, U.S. legislative activities on biotechnology next year, the effect of international policies on biotech food labeling on the domestic marketplace, and the impact on the food industry of the accidental presence of Starlink(tm) corn, unapproved for food use, in taco shells.

Thursday, December 23, 2004

Unapproved seeds on the market

The easy availability of Bt Cotton seeds without consent from the government is making a mockery of the regulatory environment. The Union agriculture ministry, on becoming aware of the illegal sales of unapproved Bt cotton seeds, has directed state governments to strictly enforce the provisions of Seeds Control Order, 1983 to deal with the situation. The illegal sale of unapproved Bt cotton has spread to Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan where sowing of cotton in the current season has begun. The MS Swaminathan panel on application of biotechnology in agriculture in its report has also noted "highlighted by mushrooming of illegal varieties of Bt cotton seeds in Gujarat, which is reported to have spread to Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab as well."
It is not yet clear what the sources of the unapproved Bt cotton seeds are. There are reports about the sale of unapproved Bt cotton seeds allegedly produced by Nav Bharat Seeds. Some farmers also suspect the leakage of Bt cotton seeds of Mahyco-Monsanto which was developed for cultivation in north India, and was rejected last year as it was found susceptible to the dangerous leaf curl virus. However, sources in Mahyco-Monsanto Biotech Company and in the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry said "such reports are baseless."
"Agriculture department officials turn a Nelson's eye to this unscrupulous sale and in most cases they are hand in glove with the fly-by-night operators." No Bt cotton seeds has yet been approved for commercial cultivation in north India, including Punjab. The leaders of Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) said that this craze of Bt cotton among farmers in north India is due to the hype generated by Mahyco Monsanto Biotech Company that its cultivation reduces bollworm attack by 58 per cent, increases yield by 24 per cent and results in a net profit of Rs 7,276 per acre.
BKU leader Jagmohan told FE, "influenced by the large scale publicity about the success of Bt cotton, the farmers are not even hesitant to pay Rs 400 to Rs 500 for a purported pack of 400 gm of Bt cotton seeds. They hardly get what they are paying for as most of the packing is done in the neighbouring Haryana with some unspecified varieties of seeds. The demand for illegal Bt cotton seeds has also spread to Rajasthan." He further said "in some cases, sowing of cotton with such varieties costs the growers Rs 2000 an acre, but the agriculture department officials turned a Nelson eye to this unscrupulous sale and in most cases they are hand in glove with the fly-by-night operators."
The Union government in letters to the state governments has requested "to ensure that dealers should claim on the label for quality of seeds with regard to the presence and absence of Bt gene in cotton to be sold in the market under section 13 (1) (a) and (c) of the Seeds Control Order, 1983. To verify the presence of Bt gene in cotton, the Government of India notified the laboratory of Central Institute for Cotton Research (CICR) at Nagpur as the central seed testing laboratory. The Government of India is also providing funds to train the officials who are working in the laboratory so as to test for the presence of Bt gene in cotton."
The monitoring committee of the Union environment ministry has recommended: "for verification of Bt cotton seed production, the company should inform the agriculture department of the concerned state regarding the location, area and estimated quantity of seed production. The quantity of seed produced should be further verified at the processing plant by the Seed Inspector."
The committee further said that the company should provide details of all its seed dealers and advance notices of delivery to the agriculture departments of the concerned state. Out of the total distribution, 0.1 per cent should be checked on random sample basis.
For evaluating the performance of Bt cotton, the committee suggested monitoring of 10 per cent of the total Bt cotton fields on a random sample basis as per guidelines developed by CICR. The period of field assessment in each state should be decided taking into consideration the varying agro-climatic conditions and also be classified into irrigated, unirrigated and drought prone areas. Bt cotton fields should be monitored three times - during flowering stage, square formation stage and at the time first plucking. Details of pest incidence, number of sprays of pesticides till 50 per cent of boll bursting stage, yield, agronomic practices should also be assessed.
News on http://seeds-commerce.blogspot.com/

Seeds market report

The monsoon during July – September in Gujarat/Southern Rajasthan was outstanding, a very promising sign for the heavily irrigated, pysillium crop, which is planted end-November – December. However, the cool weather necessary for a good planting has been replaced presently by a much warmer climate, and our supplier anticipates a reduction in planting of about 25%, with a crop projection of 900 to 925 lots.

The carryover into the new season of about 300 lots will enable the total availability to satisfy global demand of perhaps 1000 to 1200 lots, but the supply-demand ratio is so close to 1 that sharp price fluctuations may occur if demand surges or arrivals slow at any time.

Prices for seeds and husks have declined to three year lows after the excellent monsoon, but the history of the Psyllium market warns us that “if it’s too good to be true…then it may indeed be too good to be true.” With the strong rupee against the dollar and strong prosperity in the Indian economy increasing marginal labor costs, there are basic upward tendencies that complement the effects of sharp trading in the seeds.

Friday, December 17, 2004

Report: Import and Export market for cotton seeds in China

I found a new study about the Import and Export market for cotton seeds in China.
On the demand side, exporters and strategic planners focusing on cotton seeds in China face a number of questions. Which countries are supplying cotton seeds to China?
How important is China compared to others in terms of the entire global and regional market? How much do the imports of cotton seeds vary from one country of origin to another in China?
On the supply side, China also exports cotton seeds. Which countries receive the most exports from China? How are these exports concentrated across buyers? What is the value of these exports and which countries are the largest buyers?
This report was created for strategic planners, international marketing executives and import/export managers who are concerned with the market for cotton seeds in China.
With the globalization of this market, managers can no longer be content with a local view. Nor can managers be content with out-of-date statistics, which appear several years after the fact. Icon Group has developed a proprietary methodology, based on macroeconomic and trade models, to estimate the market for cotton seeds for those countries serving China via exports, or supplying from China via imports. It does so for the current year based on a variety of key historical indicators and econometric models.

Flower seeds to grow the fastest overall

Import for other seeds eincluding vegetable, flower, grass and forage, fruit, tree and novelty seeds will expand 4.3 percent per year through 2007 to $2.5 billion. Grass and flower seeds are expected to provide the best opportunities for gains in this product segment and be among the fastest growing overall.
Seed development and new end use applications (e.g., biopharmaceuticals, bioplastics and biofuels) will support healthy demand growth, as will continued expansion of golf course acres in the US. Flower seeds export will benefit from the introduction of higher value, novel seeds; development of new end-use applications (e.g., nutrition enhancers); and strong growth in consumer flower gardening expenditures.
News on http://seeds-commerce.blogspot.com/

US import of seed will reach $8.5 billion in 2007

Demand for import of seeds in the US is forecast to increase nearly 4.0 percent per year through 2007 to $8.5 billion, with volume reaching more than 17 billion pounds. Value demand will continue to be driven by the introduction of more expensive hybrid and transgenic seeds. Positive factors include trends towards narrow planting rows, expanding consumer lawn and garden expenditures, new end-use applications of field crops and flowers, and continued growth in the number of golf course acres.