Türkiye targets top 5 in global seed market within decade

ISTANBUL

Türkiye plans to climb from its current 11th position to the top five in the worldwide seed industry over the next 10 years, according to a key sector official.

Hacı Ömer Güler, chairman of the Turkish Seed Union (TÜRKTOB), told Anadolu Agency that Asia holds strong potential for growth alongside the European Union in the seed trade.

Güler highlighted the union's efforts to boost seed exports, pointing out that Türkiye's seed sector has maintained a foreign trade surplus since 2018.

The surplus stands at 117 percent for seeds, 550 percent for seedlings, 169 percent for ornamental plants and 134 percent overall in the sector since that year, he detailed.

Exports in the seed industry neared $490 million, while imports hit $364 million, Güler added.

He pegged the global seed market at $70 billion, projecting it to exceed $100 billion by 2030. "Our goal is to put Türkiye among the top five in the next 10 years," Güler pledged.

"We're working to maintain and expand our current markets, as well as to engage in commercial activities in growing regions like Asia," he explained, noting that most exports head to the EU, Russia and Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) nations.

Key priorities include diversifying products, accessing new markets, enhancing global branding, ramping up promotions, elevating seed quality and curbing unregistered production to sustain the upward trend.

Güler addressed public misconceptions that Türkiye's seed sector relies heavily on foreign imports, which he said damages perceptions of the agricultural industry.

"While we import the special seeds we need, we also export much more—every year our high-value-added seed exports increase, but the success of the industry is overshadowed by this perception," he noted.