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The Thai seed industry is among the most well-developed in the Asia-Pacific region. A number of agencies within the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives and external agencies such as the Thai Seed Trade Association and the Seed Association of Thailand are working towards developing Thailand into a seed production hub. Enhancing the seed export potential (mainly for maize and vegetables) and providing Thai farmers with quality seed (mainly for rice, pulses and forage crops) are the main strategies that have been adopted to achieve this aim.
Suitable geography and weather, availability of highly trained plant scientists, a wide range of germplasm, good infrastructure, investments in the seed sector by foreign governments, and the presence of multinational agencies and companies are all factors that make Thailand an attractive and viable place for seed production.
The Government of Thailand also contributes significantly to seed business development by offering incentives to increase investments in the sector. This is evidenced by corporate income tax exemption for qualified investors investing in conventional plant breeding and import duty exemptions for machinery and raw materials.
In 2017, the Department of Agriculture proposed a draft Plant Variety Protection bill, which is in compliance with UPOV 1991. However, the bill has not yet come into force and requires further consensus.
Twenty-one index companies report having a presence in the country. Most of the companies carry out seed production. Smallholder farmers are involved in 100% of seed production activities for East-West Seed, Corteva Agriscience, Limagrain and Acsen Hyveg.
East-West Seed, Charoen Pokphand, both headquartered in the country, as well as Advanta, Corteva Agriscience, Limagrain and Known-You Seed, carry out all the steps in the seed value chain in Thailand, namely breeding, testing, seed production, processing and extension services.
Field crops (mainly maize and rice) and vegetable crops are the focus for companies operating in the region.
The extension services currently provided can be further strengthened to ensure effective outreach to smallholder farmers.
| Company | Crops in portfolio | Company activities in country | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Companies selected for the Access to Seeds Index |
Field crops |
Vegetables | Breeding location |
Testing location |
Seed production |
Processing location |
Sales | Extension services |
||||||
| Acsen HyVeg | * | |||||||||||||
| Advanta | * | |||||||||||||
| Bayer | * | |||||||||||||
| Bejo | ||||||||||||||
| Bioseed | ||||||||||||||
| Charoen Pokphand ** | ||||||||||||||
| Corteva Agriscience | * | |||||||||||||
| East-West Seed ** | * | |||||||||||||
| Enza Zaden | ||||||||||||||
| Known-You Seed | * | |||||||||||||
| KWS | ||||||||||||||
| Lal Teer Seed | ||||||||||||||
| Limagrain | * | |||||||||||||
| Monsanto | ||||||||||||||
| Namdhari Seeds | ||||||||||||||
| Nongwoo Bio | ||||||||||||||
| Nuziveedu Seeds | ||||||||||||||
| Rijk Zwaan | * | |||||||||||||
| Sakata | ||||||||||||||
| Syngenta | ||||||||||||||
| Takii | ||||||||||||||
Other index companies are also active in the country. However, country-specific information for these companies is not available or was provided under non-disclosure.
