Seed sales rise despite turmoil

Seed firms saw a rise in sales during the current boro season in spite of the series of shutdowns and blockades over the past two months.
Most firms anticipating political unrest sent the seeds over to the dealers' end in advance, said Mohammed Masum, chairman of Supreme Seed Company, a leading seed company.
“So there was availability right through to the grassroots level,” he said, adding that there was increased interest among growers to cultivate rice, especially of the hybrid variety, for the first time in two years after paddy prices started rising from the middle of last year.
Prices of coarse paddy now stand at Tk 700-750 a maund (40kg), up from Tk 500-600 a year ago, said FH Ansarey, executive director of Agribusiness division of ACI.
A reduced stock of the popular HYV variety BR-29 rice seed at the farmers' end and price reduction by private seed companies are other reasons behind the increased demand for hybrids, seed company officials said.
Anwar Faruque, director general of the seed wing of the agriculture ministry, expects total hybrid rice seed sales to come to around 7,000 tonnes by the end of the ongoing boro cultivation season, up 16 percent year-on-year.
Despite increased demand, recurrent blockades and shutdowns at local levels hampered distribution in many parts of the north during the months of November and December, said Ashraf Uddin Ahmed, business manager of business development of Ispahani Ltd, another seed company. “Those companies that had supplied higher quantity to their local warehouses, dealers and distributors in advance were big gainers.”
“Still there are demands for seed up north," said FR Malik, managing director of Mollika Seed Company, adding that companies could exploit the renewed interests of farmers to invest in hybrid rice by supplying increased amount of seeds to the dealers' end ahead of the season.