The seed market in Europe contains nearly 7,200 seed companies, totaling more than 50,000 employees and accounts for 20% of the total production of oil from crops such as sunflower seeds, maize, and rape seeds. France, Netherlands and Germany are three of the top four seed exporters in the world and will play a key role in sustaining Europe’s seed market growth.

Technavio analysts expect the seeds market in Europe to grow at a CAGR of 10.57% during the period 2014-2019 and expect the market to reach a value of $24 billion, nearly $10 billion more than its current $14.52 billion value. Increased demand for good quality high-performing genetically engineered and hybrid seeds by farmers and rising demand for biofuels in Europe are two of the key drivers for the forecast period. Europe recorded the availability of nearly 2 million Hectares (Ha) of area for seed production in 2014, which is likely to grow consistently and also boost the growth of the market.

Source: Technavio Research

Grain seeds and oilseeds is the largest product segment with a market share of 76.47% in 2014, however, the fruit and vegetable seeds segment is expected to gain traction. Many seed varieties are also likely to be developed in the future as an average of 12-15% of the total revenue is invested in research and development. Despite the traction gained from the fruits and vegetables sector and the future development of seed varieties, grain seeds and oilseeds will continue to dominate Europe’s seeds market through the forecast period.

Source: Technavio Research

France was the world’s largest seed exporting country in 2014, followed by Netherlands, the United States, and Germany. Hungary, Italy and Denmark are all in the top 10, giving Europe six of the top 10 seed exporting countries in the world. Chile is the major exporter of seeds among the Latin American countries in and China dominates the exports in APAC.

Value of Seeds Exports Per Country 2012



via chartsbin.com

Source: Technavio Research, International Seed Federation