India is ranked eighth in the global seed market. However, its seed exports in 1996-97 were barely at $23 million (Rs 100 crore), only two per cent (of total production) of seeds sold in the domestic markets, against 15 per cent of the world seed exports.

According to a report on India's seed industry, conducted under the aegis of the US Agency for International Development (USAID),the biggest obstacles to expanding domestic seed exports are government regulations and procedures that delay and obstruct seed imports (company access to parent seeds) and exports.

India's $900 million-plus seed industry, eighth in the $27 billion-plus global seed industry, will have to push its annual seed exports by 20-30 per cent per annum to achieve the targeted figure of $100-250 million in next five years.

Amongother suggestions given by the report are: Remove seed export from the restricted list (except for endangered and wild spices); ease procedures to receive phytosanitary certificates by corporates; remove seed import barriers (they have been removed in October 1998, but confusion remains as regards their import duty and quarantine requirements) and give more focused attention for seed exports by Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development -- APEDA) and better Exim Bank support.

"The challenge is to simply open the door," said David Gisselquist and Shalini Kala, co-authors of India's Seed Industry Goes Global: Expanding Into Foreign Markets.

The report, released recently, was an outcome of a study conducted during July-August 1998. The Agriculture Commercialisation and Enterprise (ACE) Project, funded by USAID, works for the development of `dynamic private sector agribusiness' in the country. The ACE project has been working with the domestic seed industry for over a year now.

"Ifseed exports increase to Rs 1,000 crore in the next five years, (corresponding to some of the targets discussed in the Ministry of Agriculture) they would then account for about two per cent of agricultural exports and 0.5 per cent of total exports," the report said, adding "as India's seed industry expands into world markets, Indian farmers and agricultural product processing industries are the big winners."

Opportunities in global seeds' market: Currently, handful of Indian seed companies like Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Co (Mahyco), ITC Zeneca and few others export just around $20 million of the total $900 million worth of seeds sold in the country by cross section of domestic seed companies and traders (including sales from imports and in-country production by subsidiaries of foreign companies).

For the 10 largest private seed companies in India annual seed sales range from Rs 130 crore ($30 million) for Mahyco to Rs 20 crore ($5 million) each for ITC Zeneca and JK Agri-Genetics.

Export toneighbouring countries, much of which is smuggled (e.g. jute seeds to Bangladesh, onion seeds to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka), and some of which is formal and legal (eg., vegetable seeds to Bangladesh, sunflower seeds to Pakistan). Seeds are of cultivars that are common in India and have often been bred in and for India.

The following opportunities exists in global seed market: