QQA: Recently, in your operational report, you talked of successfully completing a third trial with a global seed distributor in the Middle East. What does that mean in terms of commercializing your seeds?

 

Tony Crimmins: It means quite a lot. Our seeds were independently assessed as strongly competitive with world leading varietals in real world farming conditions.

 

Our summer/spring cucumber lines demonstrated high yields at the beginning of harvest - just when farmers need it - at the same time optimizing taste, colour, crunch, lifespan, disease resistance and insect resistance.

 

QQA: So does that mean they’ll start selling your seeds, or are there more hoops to jump through?

 

Tony Crimmins: It means sales will follow, over time.

 

QQA: So when can we expect sales to start impacting the bottom line?

 

Tony Crimmins: Hmm, to answer that, I need to give you a little background perspective. The global seed distribution business is very big and very concentrated. The top four players account for over 50% of a seed market estimated to be worth over $100 billion per year, and we’re dealing with one of them.

 

QQA: Wow. That’s big in anyone’s terms.

 

Tony Crimmins: It sure is. They employ tens of thousands of people across 100 or so countries. In fact their annual sales are bigger than the GDPs of many small countries.

 

So we have to work within their systems, and rigorous quality control, though vitally important, is just one facet of their product approval process.

 

QQA: I imagine there are complex international commercial agreements to be negotiated as well?

 

Tony Crimmins: There are. So it takes a while, especially the first time, and trying to rush it would be a mistake. It’ll be well worth it though. A recent analysis projects the world seed market to exceed $120 Billion by 2020. Even better, the Asia-Pacific is expected to be the fastest-growing region due to its high population countries, along with technology driven agriculture practices.

 

QQA: So a lengthy and somewhat unpredictable timeframe is just part of doing business with the big global players?

 

Tony Crimmins: Essentially, yes. Think – for example – about the approvals process for a hundred million dollar property development on Sydney Harbour. You wouldn’t expect such a DA to go through quickly and you’d expect a few twists and turns along the way.But ultimately the results justify the persistence required. We’re really excited about the future.