JOIN US Sakata Seed Corporation, a 100-plus year-old, $450-million Japanese seed development and marketing company, is all set to make an investment of Rs 100 crore in India as part of its expansion activities.
According to sources in the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) privy to the development, Japan’s largest listed seed wholesaler will invest the money for its research and development (R&D) activities in the country.
When Deccan Herald contacted a Sakata Indian official, he said the company established its Indian operations in 2008 and research centre in Bengaluru in 2009. The research centre has now employs around 50 people.
Sources revealed that the company has already acquired 10 acres of land adjacent to Doddaballapur which will be developed for seed development and research activities.
Sakata Seed India is headed by Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Jai Singh. It currently operates farmland, research centre, and sales divisions across India, and has around 100 employees.
Sakata Seed Corporation was founded in 1913 and is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange since 1987. Currently the company provides many best-selling seed varieties in more than 130 countries and has a network of research, production, and sales activities in 16 countries.
As per a recent statement by Chief Executive Officer Hiroshi Sakata, the company would be among the top five vegetable seed wholesalers in India with 10 per cent market share in the ‘F1’ and ‘open pollinated’ vegetable seed market by 2018.
The company is involved in three farm verticals. They are production and sales of vegetable seeds, flower seeds, grass seeds, vegetable seedlings, and flower seedlings; bulbs and agricultural/gardening materials; and publication of gardening literature.
It is also involved in designing, management, and contract of landscaping, greenhouse, and agricultural facilities.
A recent report by Research and Markets on ‘Global Seed Market, Segmented By Crop Type, Trait And Geography — Trends And Forecasts (2014-2019)’ says that the global seed market by revenue was $49.23 billion in 2013, and is projected to reach $82.94 billion in 2019, witnessing the growth at a CAGR of 9.1 per cent for the forecast period.
Asia-Pacific is the biggest market for seeds with a share of about 32.7 per cent, and is closely followed by North America.
Besides rising demand of biofuels and animal fodder, the seed market is witnessing demand pull from the mounting pressure to increase yield of crops to feed the growing world population.
The company is also facing intense competition from Monsanto Company, DuPont, Syngenta, Dow AgroSciences, Land O’Lakes, and Bayer CropScience.