Opportunities and Challenges for Seed Exports from India Paresh Verma President, Bioseed SE Asia & Global Research Director

Diverse agroclimate –Suitable for a variety of crops –Conducive for seed production Strong seed production capability –Well established seed production systems and regulations –Large number of trained seed growers –Large number of seed producing companies Strong agricultural research capacity –Public sector institutes – national & international –Availability of scientific human resources Advantages for ‘Make in India’

To all geographies: –Contract/custom production for export Vegetable crops –OPVs – going strong –Hybrids – reduced significantly due to weak IP regime in India To similar agroclimates: –Export to affiliates – mostly hybrids by private sector –Export to non-affiliates (inculding direct to distributors) Hybrids and OPVs Private sector - to South Asian countries Public sector - Govt. to Govt. collaborations Seed exports from India

To similar agroclimates –South Asia –South East Asia –Africa Most countries in these regions lack one of the following – strong seed production capability – environment conducive to seed production Govt. of India’s commitment to encourage seed exports India is a member of OECD with participation in their seed production program Opportunities for seed exports from India

India is a regional hub for several multinational seed companies Some Indian seed companies have started to expand to many of these geographies Increasing research capability of private sector in India Options to collaborate with international research institutes to develop a product for targeted geographies outside of India Opportunities for seed exports from India

Regulations in importing country –Seed testing and product release process usually long could be restrictive, unclear or unpredictive –Varying degree of restrictions on seed imports per se – none, partial or total SPS requirements –Ad hoc policy / process compliance requirements –Varying degree of restrictions in establishing and operating a local business entity Most countries in these regions are not members of OECD Challenges to seed exports from India

Regulations in India –Uncertainty in export policy for agricultural commodities - seed exports inadvertently get impacted –Restrictions on export of pre-release seed material for testing purposes due to BDA –Weak IPR regime Lack of harmonization in SPS regulations Absence of a framework (similar to FTA) which could allow free movement of seed across borders in S&SE Asia Challenges to seed exports from India

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