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.

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Video: Democratizing Gene Editing - Pairwise’s Vision for the Future of Agriculture

Pairwise has built its business around an idea that runs counter to how many companies approach innovation: make transformative technology easier to access.

In this Seed World interview, CEO Tom Adams discusses why broader access to gene editing could speed crop improvement, expand innovation opportunities and help agriculture address emerging challenges. He explains why Pairwise believes no single company can solve all of agriculture's problems alone—and why making advanced breeding technologies available to more organizations could accelerate progress across the industry.

The conversation explores how consumer trust influences technology adoption, why innovations like pitless cherries and seedless blackberries matter beyond convenience, and how future crop improvements could help address labor shortages, automation, harvest efficiency and other production challenges. Adams also shares his perspective on what the industry may be underestimating about the next wave of gene editing innovation.

Watch the full interview to hear why Pairwise believes agriculture is approaching an important inflection point for gene editing, and why the pace of innovation over the next decade could surprise the industry.

Topics Covered:

o Democratizing agricultural innovation

o Consumer trust and technology adoption

o The business case for sharing innovation

o Expanding innovation beyond major crops

o Next-generation breeding technologies