The seed business in Brazil reaches over R$70 billion per year, of which soybeans and corn are the main species: together they represent 70% of the market. Cotton, wheat, rice, sorghum, forage and vegetable crops are also important.
In terms of imports and exports, the country mainly exports tropical forage seeds and, to a lesser extent, corn seeds. On the other hand, it imports vegetable seeds, with an emphasis on hybrids.
The seed business is made possible by a system that involves several players, mainly seed producers, breeders of new cultivars and biotechnology events, farmers with their representatives, training and research, government and the banking sector. This system enables harmony between the creation and development of new and better cultivars, the production of seeds in quantity and quality, the adoption of technological innovations and personnel training, quality control, both internal and external, and due financing.
Practically all the players in the seed system have their own associations, and the seed producers have state associations. Thus, at the national level, the country has ABRASEM (Brazilian Seed and Seedling Association), which brings together all seed associations, such as the state seed associations, ABRASS (Brazilian Association of Soybean Seed Producers), ABCSEM (Association of Vegetable Seed Traders), Unipasto (Forage), CropLife (breeding and obtaining cultivars and events) and ABRATES (Brazilian Seed Technology Association).
In this context, ABRATES has participated in ABRASEM since 2004, with voice and vote, and is a reference for its neutrality, since, as they say, “it neither buys nor sells seeds”, bringing together professors, researchers, technical managers, consultants, businesspeople and other professionals dedicated to the seed business.
ABRATES has its strengths in the scientific edition of the Journal of Seed Science, the Brazilian Seed Congress (CBS) and in staff training. The scientific publication has already covered several technological innovations such as seed vigor and its relationship with productivity, methodology for seed analysis, harvesting, processing, storage, biotechnology, among other topics. ABRATES has been publishing its scientific publication since 1979, with 2,292 articles published to date. It is emphasized that each article is reviewed by at least two researchers, demonstrating the quality of the publication.
The Brazilian Seed Congress (CBS) The CBS has been held 22 times, the last one in September 2024, in the city of Foz do Iguaçu (PR); it had almost 1,700 participants, who, over four days, participated in the event, consisting of lectures, symposiums, visits to stands of seed companies and business alignments.
Lectures The CBS motto was “Seed: raw material for sustainability”. Several lectures addressed the subject, emphasizing that the use of high-quality seeds of improved varieties is one of the best strategies for sustainability.
In this sense, we highlight the lecture given by Dr. Geri Meneghello, who presented historical data on grain production, compiled by the National Supply Company (Conab) from 1993 to 2023, showing that the area cultivated with grains increased from 38 million to 68 million hectares, while productivity increased from 1.96 t/ha to 4.07 t/ha. If productivity had not increased, more than 160 million hectares would have been needed to achieve the same grain production, instead of 68 million. This is a very convincing argument that seeds are a subject when it comes to sustainability.
The event's program included lectures on technological and procedural advances, such as seed harvesting, drying, processing, storage, treatment, logistics, quality control, human relations and marketing.
Seed production can be considered an open-air industry, meaning that it is advisable to harvest as soon as possible, using artificial desiccation and drying of the seeds. Among the factors that affect seed quality, field deterioration is the most damaging. Currently, seed producers perform desiccation in practically all production fields (soybean), while drying is carried out in 100% of corn and rice seed production and more than 70% for soybean and wheat seeds.
Regarding procedural aspects, the highlights include the large increase in the number of cultivars that seed producers commercialize, normally reaching more than 30, the time for seed processing, which practically ends together with the harvest, and the number of evaluations of the physiological quality of the seeds, which are evaluated several times during storage.
The number of cultivars influences the care taken with varietal mixtures; the time for processing involves hours of work per day and the size or number of pieces of equipment; and quality assessment requires trained personnel.
Other lectures were on personnel and marketing, highlighting that it is people who make things happen, since business is not conducted with CPF or CNPJ, and it is clear that there is no talent on the shelf and hiring is based on resumes, while dismissal is usually based on conduct. On the other hand, marketing is involved with the large number of mergers and acquisitions of seed companies and positioning regarding technological advances. The number of seed producing companies with publicly traded capital on the stock exchange is increasing. This is a new trend.
Poster Sessions The CBS is the event par excellence for presenting scientific work developed at universities, institutes, research centers and other locations. This year, more than 500 papers were presented, covering physiology, biotechnology, production, processing, storage, packaging, among other subjects. Several species were the subject of research, such as large crops, forage, vegetable, forestry and cover crops.
In general, the most robust works are submitted to the Journal of Seed Science, published by ABRATES. It is also worth noting that most authors are at the beginning of their professional careers, whether in research, teaching or technical responsibility, with young people working in scientific initiation, master's and doctoral programs. The country has excellent professional training centers.
Technological Showroom The seed business in Brazil is one of the largest in the world, involving the creation and development of cultivars as well as machinery, equipment, products and services. There are more than 500 seed processing units in the country, almost 300 seed analysis laboratories and more than three million hectares planted for seeds, which must be harvested within a period of 30 to 40 days. The amounts invested in the production, processing and analysis of seeds amount to several billion reais per year.
Therefore, the Technological Showroom is an excellent place for business, which this year mainly featured companies from the seed treatment (machinery and products), packaging, quality control (services and equipment), processing, quality control, traceability, among others.
It is worth noting the consensus among exhibitors that the ABRATES event is the place to find the person who makes the purchase decision for the seed company, as they have the appropriate technical knowledge, generally being the technical manager of the seed company. On the other hand, the company owner discusses the price and payment terms.
The ABRATES congress is a robust event, covering technological advances, science and technology, updates and, no less important, an excellent place for business.
Symposia ABRATES has four technical committees: seed pathology, forest seeds, forage seeds and seed analysis. These committees discuss the scientific and technological advances in each area. The most recent is the seed analysis committee, which discussed, during the CBS, with the staff of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAPA), the proposal to update the seed analysis rules (RAS).
Seed analysis rules are essential for the seed business, since, for marketing, minimum quality standards are stipulated, for example, such as 80% germination and 99% physical purity for species of major crops (soybean, corn, rice, wheat, cotton, sorghum), whose evaluation must follow a protocol constant in the RAS.
There are hundreds of species that propagate by seeds, and each of them has its own specific requirements for germination testing, such as temperature, humidity, light, days for evaluation, substrate, overcoming dormancy, sampling and preparation. These specific requirements and others are covered in the RAS, and periodic updates are recommended.
The ministry staff presented the main updates to the RAS, such as sampling in big bags, treated seeds, coated seeds, vigor tests, among others. Regarding vigor tests, it was emphasized that this is a commercial aspect and cannot yet be included in the RAS, due to the standardization of methodology for conducting tests and quality standards. There are several tests for evaluating the physiological quality of seeds used in the internal quality control of companies that are not included in the RAS.
Considering that this proposal for updating and expanding the RAS is being put out for public consultation, it is estimated that by the end of the year we will have new RAS. The ABRATES analysis committee has and will continue to contribute to the RAS, through the experience and knowledge of its members. The country's seed business needs solid standards and procedures to thrive and generate wealth.
Some considerations ABRATES' strength lies mainly in publishing the scientific journal Journal of Seed Science, which has published more than 2,200 articles since 1979, in holding its congress, which is now in its 22nd edition, and in its four technical committees, all of which are carried out voluntarily by its members. The journal publishes the sector's innovations, the congress brings together professionals who make high-quality seeds available to farmers, and the committees discuss the specificities. It is also worth mentioning ABRATES' participation in ABRASEM as a non-profit organization, serving as a reference in the organization's demands in the Brazilian seed system.
