At present, pepper seed market has been trapped in a slump
mainly owing to increasing players, depressed prices and soaring production costs,
although the market value is growing gradually with the promotion of hybrid
seeds in linear pepper and pod pepper planting, according to Seed China News issued by CCM in February.
There have been more and more companies engaged in pepper
seed business with intense price competition in the market. Therefore, the
market price of pepper seeds is rather low at present, estimated to be at the
level of ten years ago. Meanwhile, the production costs of pepper seeds have
been soaring compared with that in ten years ago, even increasing by two to
three times for some pepper seeds.
Among the large number of pepper seed companies, few of them
have undertaken professional market research and assessment, leading to their
divorce from the market demand. In addition, there are not so many companies
which take pepper seed as their core business. Judging from professional
standpoint, Jiangxi Zhengbang, Hunan Xiangyan Seed Industry Co., Ltd., Beijing
Zhongshu Horticultural Crop Seed R&D Center, etc., are the leading domestic
pepper seed enterprises with sales accounting for over 80% of their annual
revenue.
Multinationals like Sygenta and Seminis also have pretty
good sales in pepper seeds but they account for only a small part of their
revenue. Generally speaking, multinational companies have dominant position in
sweet pepper and pod pepper while domestic counterparts mainly supply seeds of
horn-like pepper and linear pepper.
Insiders generally believe that China's market scale of
pepper seed is over USD15.80 million (RMB1 billion), with annual sales of
hybrid pepper seeds around 80,000kg. In recent years, there have been none
large fluctuations in the domestic pepper seed market, only some small
fluctuations caused by price changes of commercial pepper seeds.
A peak always arises after a trough. Pepper seed market will
definitely turn for the better in future. Apart from industrial policies and
breeding technology, two major factors would boost the favorable turn of pepper
seed market. First, disadvantaged players will be eliminated if the soaring
costs in production and marketing go beyond the market price of pepper seeds.
Second, the large-scale planting of pepper would link farms or large growers
with superior companies more closely, which would impact the seed companies.
seed companies shall rely on both improved variety and
outstanding marketing.
Pepper breeding is crucial for seed
companies but most of them do not specialize in variety improvement and
innovation. The key of pepper breeding lies in the technical improvement and
resource collection. It is only in relying on breeding that pepper seed players
can realize a variety innovation and maintain competitive edge in the market.
At present, agent marketing is still the mainstream pepper
seed market mode but the marketing channel has been gradually becoming flatter.
To be simple, the former four-level marketing channel "province - city - county
- town" has been shortened by one or two levels. With the emergence of
large-scale pepper planting, pepper seed companies are attempting to develop
direct sales models.
In China, planting types of pepper are roughly divided into
sweet pepper (bell pepper and green pepper), mild-spicy pepper (ox horn type),
claw pepper, linear pepper, pod pepper, etc. There have been none obvious
changes in sweet pepper seed market; ox horn pepper and claw pepper have been
reduced in seed market, with few varieties; linear pepper has seen a
significant growth in the seed market with abundant varieties; hybrid seeds of
pod pepper are gradually becoming popular in the market, estimated to see a
continuous development in future.
"A small pepper but a big project" is the dominant
ideology of Jiangxi Zhengbang. For the short-term goal, Jiangxi Zhengbang
expects to seize its technological advantage in pepper breeding to develop
pepper seed brand and become a pepper seed supplier for the world. For the
long-term goal, Jiangxi Zhengbang intends to extend pepper seed supply into a
whole industrial chain of pepper, covering pepper planting, circulation,
processing, etc.
Table Contents of Seed
China News 1302:
The MOA to advance the implementation of Seed Industry Plan
2012-2020
Wheat price continuously rising in China
China: cotton reserve measure facing with dilemma
Pepper seed market in a slump
Chinese cabbage seed market in Northeast China
Alfalfa seed imports increased sharply in 2012
12 super rice varieties released in 2013
Recommended corn varieties for major corn planting regions
Seed China News, a monthly publication
issued by CCM at the end of every month, mainly covers a diversity of topics,
including market dynamic, company dynamic, crops, seed market, etc. With the
latest news in seed industry and in-depth analysis on government direction and
market competition, Seed China News can provide you with valid information
which would help you make rational decisions in investment, production,
marketing, etc.
CCM is dedicated to market research in
China
Guangzhou CCM Information Science & Technology Co., Ltd.
17th Floor, Huihua Commercial & Trade Mansion, No.80 Xianlie Zhong Road, Guangzhou 510070, China
Tel: 86-20-37616606
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