The grey market
The grey market of seed material is one of the biggest problems of the Polish seed market. It is estimated that its size may exceed 50% of the entire seed market, causing losses of several hundred million PLN a year.
Illegal trade of non-certified seed and seed potatoes has a negative impact on the financial situation of breeders – it deprives them not only of funds for investment in innovation and biological progress, but also of the funds necessary to maintain already existing varieties.
The grey market is detrimental to farmers, resulting in a reduction of the competitiveness of Polish agriculture in the European Union. Buying seed material of unknown variety for sowing, not tested in the scope of quality and health, a farmer risks at best a yield loss; in the worst case his plantation may get infected by diseases and this results in serious financial loss.
Illegal trade is also a problem for seed companies that produce legal, certified seed material. The production of certified seed requires to fulfil of strict official standards – as a result, only seed material of the highest quality can enter the market. The offer of the grey market means unfair competition for licensed producers, especially as the production costs and the market price of certified seed are higher than in the case of non-certified material.
The article ”Assessment of the organization of the seed market”
Please see the article „Ocena organizacji rynku nasiennego” (“Assessment of the organization of the seed market“, Polish language version only), which also touches upon the harmfulness of illegal trade of seed material.
The article is the part of publication entitled ”Seed Report 2018 – Evolution of the seed market in Poland”.
Don’t let the grey market mislead you!
- Do not purchase seed of unknown variety for sowing, e.g. from a seller on Internet stock market or a marketplace, or from a newspaper advertisement, especially if the seller does not know or does not want to mention the variety name.
- Do not use offers for seed or seed potatoes at a suspiciously attractive price, “without documents”, “without an invoice”, “after basic seed” – probably this material failed certification procedure at the Main Inspectorate of Plant Health And Seed Inspection (Państwowa Inspekcja Ochrony Roślin i Nasiennictwa – PIORiN) and is not approved for trading.
- Do not exchange seed for sowing with a neighbour, a colleague, etc. – you will both infringe the exclusive right!
- Do not purchase feed or consumption material for sowing, regardless of the purpose of sowing (e.g. catch crops, greening).
Proof of purchase
When buying certified seed, always check the details on the invoice and on the official bag label (variety name, species, batch number, etc.) – they must be identical.
Always request a proof of purchase (receipt, VAT invoice, storage note).
How to check whether the seller holds a suitable marketing licence?
- The seller should be registered in the register of entities trading in seed, kept by the Main Inspectorate of Plant Health And Seed Inspection (PIORiN).
- The seller should have a licence or a sub-licence from suitable breeder who is the holder of PVR to the variety.