Roskilde, Denmark
March 5, 2009
 The
European Seed Association
(ESA) will establish a task force to localise and reduce the
problem with uncertified seed. "We will use all measures
necessary to stop sales of illegal seeds", says Chairman of the
ESA Seed Section, Torben Lunde (photo), of
DLF-TRIFOLIUM A/S.
The industry has agreed to combat the import of uncertified
seed, also called "birds' seed". ESA and the Seeds Task Group,
COPA, in Brussels have agreed to do something about this
problem. Therefore, it has been decided to form the ESA task
force.
Behind this initiative is director at DLF-TRIFOLIUM and Chairman
of the ESA Seed Section, Torben Lunde. "We will use all means to
make the producers of uncertified seed stop. By purchasing and
testing goods that are not in the clear, we will try to find out
whether the seed is actually what it appears to be", he says.
Head of Secretariat, Nils Elmegaard, Danish Seed Council, has
been appointed Chairman of the Task Force:
There are many rumors and guesswork concerning the uncertified
seed. And it has been reported from all sides that something
illegal is going on", he says. "There are many frustrations when
it comes to uncertified seed within the European seed business,
and there is seldom smoke without fire".
From Birds' Seed to Certified Seed
Imports of grass seeds to Europe from the US have increased
significantly in recent years.
In 2008, imports of grass seeds from the US to Europe -
certified or uncertified - are estimated to correspond to
approx. 30.000 hectares of grass seed production.
Grass seed industry experts on the American market as well as
the very low prices that a major part of the imported seed is
sold at, indicate that some of the imported seed is uncertified.
"We clearly witness a trafficking of uncertified seed mainly
from the US to Southern Europe. All of a sudden the "Birds'
seed" becomes certified seed, how it is done we cannot tell for
sure", says Torben Lunde.
Nobody knows exactly how much uncertified seed is being imported
in Europe. This is one of the areas that the Task Force is to
clarify, if possible. They are also to verify the rumors in this
respect.
"So far we hear a lot of rumors, but until we know more on this
subject we cannot say anything about the methods or actions that
allow some producers to circumvent the law", says Torben Lunde.
Serious Consequences
The huge quantity of uncertified seed has had a negative impact
on grass seed prices.
The price for "Birds' seed" is in some cases, according to the
grass seed industry, only half of that of certified seed. This
is due to the fact that surplus quantities of unspecified seeds
are being sold - from parts of the world, where quality and
origin is not being controlled.
At the same time, no breeding costs have been involved in this
uncertified seed.
"If we keep to the rules, and the producers of "Birds' seed" do
not, then the uncertified seed becomes very cheap. If the
certified seed prices, as a consequence, hit rock-bottom it will
have serious implications for the grass seed industry", says
Torben Lunde.
"However, it is an even bigger problem to the end-user e.g. the
farmer, who wrongly believe that he has bought a certified
variety with a high germination. In reality, however, the seed
he has bought is only rubbish that will provide him with a lower
yield than he expected", says Torben Lunde.
A Well-known Problem
Importation of uncertified seed is not a new phenomenon, and
therefore the grass seed industry has earlier called for a
strong action against the "Birds' seed". The last time was 5
years ago, when someone wondered how Italy could harvest 4000
kg/ha versus the Europen average on 1500 kg/ha. A fact to which
the local authorities did not respond for a long period of time.
"Not until we made them aware of this, and invited them to pay a
visit to the grass seed producer in question. Then we saw a
reaction", says Torben Lunde.
The consequence was that the Italian company had to close down,
and also the importation of "Birds' seed" was reduced for a
period of time.
A National Matter
5 years ago it really helped that the industry made the Italian
authorities aware of the problem. Since then ESA has also tried
to have the EU Commission do something about this problem. "But
the EU Commission does not want to deal with this, claiming that
it is a national issue. Therefore we have to take action once
again and tell both the bad guys and the national authorities
that we intend to stop this illegal trade", says Torben Lunde. |
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