Global Seed Exports and Imports: Comparisons Between 2015 and 2020

Jan 20, 2023

Each year, the International Seed Federation (ISF) releases its seed statistics that detail the seed exports and imports gathered through internal surveys, international trade reports and knowledge gleaned during visits to various countries. In August 2022, ISF shared its report from 2020.

The report reveals that some of the ‘usual suspects’ — the Netherlands, United States, France and Denmark — remain in the top five or so for export quantity, import quantity, export value and import value when compared to ISF’s report from 2015. France held its spot in the top two for export quantity, export value and import value with 820.819 metric tons, US$2.293 million and US$1.156 million respectively.

Other countries have made significant jumps, either climbing up in rank, or dropping lower on the lists. For example, Slovakia ranked second in export quantity in 2015, yet in the 2020 report, the country dropped down to ninth place. Hungary was listed sixth on the list in 2015 but has now altogether disappeared from the top 10 for export quantity.

Click here to see more...

Video: Root Exudates, Soil Biology, and How Plants Recruit Microbes | Field Talk Friday

Field Talk Friday | Dr. John Murphy | Root Exudates, Soil Biology, and How Plants Recruit Microbes

Most of us spend our time managing what we can see above ground—plant height, leaf color, stand counts, and yield potential. But the deeper you dig into agronomy, the more you realize that some of the most important processes driving crop performance are happening just millimeters below the surface.

In this episode of Field Talk Friday, Dr. John Murphy continues the soil biology series by diving into one of the most fascinating topics in modern agronomy: root exudates and the role they play in shaping the microbial world around plant roots.

Roots are not passive structures simply pulling nutrients out of the soil. They are active participants in the underground ecosystem. Plants constantly release compounds into the soil—sugars, amino acids, organic acids, and other molecules—that act as both energy sources and signals for soil microbes.