The Certified Organic Seed Market: Implications of Delayed Development

This study looked at the implications of delayed development of the certified organic seed market. Beginning by looking at organic regulations in the United States and how authorized organic certifiers implement them, the paper introduces the general issue of “commercial availability” as it has arisen in the organic market in general and how it has impacted the use of certified organic seed. Complementing the issue of “commercial availability” is the discussion of the harmonization of organic standards between the U.S. and Europe. The rationale for this discussion is that harmonization provides a basis for differing organic standards to exist yet still facilitate trade in certified organic products between the two regions in spite of the regulatory differences. The paper then systematically provides the underlying information needed to look at the implications of the delay in the development of the use of certified organic seed. Specifically, the paper explains the nature of commercial seed production for horticultural crops, carrots and lettuce in particular, followed by the issues arising when a commercial seed producer moves from conventional seed production to certified organic seed production. Following this is a discussion of how the European Union has addressed the issue of commercial availability of seed. These discussions of certified organic seed production and how commercial availability is addressed in the regulatory arena is presented in terms of areas where commercial seed producers have control over the development of certified organic seed and areas where they have little control – the institutional constraints. Ultimately the paper comes to the conclusion that, in spite of the steps that have been taken to address the lack of certified organic seed use in the U.S. and Europe, U.S. producers of organic crops who are either participating in the European export market or are planning to do so will bear costs should the EU impose mandatory use of certified organic seed before the U.S. While no data is available to prove this conclusively, the logic of the argument (which is based on the underlying information presented in the paper) is that given the high cost of certified organic seed and the generally high costs of organic production, it will be very difficult to address a domestic and an export organic market when an important and high cost regulatory difference exists – primarily the difference between being allowed to use lower-cost conventional untreated seed and the higher-cost certified organic seed. Essentially, a grower serving both markets must adopt either two separate production systems (and absorb the attendant costs inherent in that) or grow to the higher (and higher-cost) standard. Current policy actions and market realities make it unlikely for commercial seed producers to increase the pace of organic seed development, thus leaving the grower of organic crops for export in a bind should the Europeans move first.