COLLINS, Mr Joshua, Industry Engagement Officer, Australian Seed Federation DELBRIDGE, Ms Katherine, Chief Executive Officer, Australian Seed Federation [10:18] CHAIR:  Welcome. This hearing is a legal proceeding of the parliament. The giving of false or misleading evidence is a serious matter and may be regarded as a contempt of parliament. The evidence given today will be recorded by Hansard and attracts parliamentary privilege. I now invite you to make an opening statement before we proceed to discussion. Ms Delbridge : Thank you, Chair, and thank you to the committee for the opportunity to appear today. When we think about Australian agriculture our minds naturally go to the end products: grains, fresh produce, red meat, dairy and fibres that Australia enjoys here at home and also exports around the world—and rightly so, as they are world class. But, before any of those products can reach a farm gate, a processor or a port, they all start with something that's often overlooked: the seed. Seed is the beginning of the agricultural value chain. It underpins productivity, resilience and profitability of our farming systems. While the seed industry itself in Australia is valued at around $1.3 billion, its impact extends far beyond that figure. You can draw a direct line from the work of plant breeders, seed producers and seed companies to the broader success of vast sectors of Australian agriculture, which, as we all know, has been forecast to reach the milestone figure of $100 billion this financial year. The seed industry's contribution also extends beyond broadacre cropping, pasture systems, and fruit and vegetable production. We also play a crucial role in environmental restoration through the native seed industry as well as in the home garden market, sporting grounds and local councils through lawn and turf seed. While the Australian seed industry is relatively small, it is highly innovative and globally connected. Australian breeders and seed companies develop varieties suited to a range of very challenging climate conditions here in Australia, which include both dryland and tropical systems. These strengths position the Australian seed industry well to engage with emerging agricultural markets, including those across Africa. As outlined in our submission to the committee, our current seed-for-sowing trade with African countries is present but modest. Our existing exports are predominantly Rhodes grass and lucerne seed, and they are concentrated in markets such as South Africa, Egypt, Morocco, Kenya and Sudan, demonstrating that there are already functioning trade pathways that could be expanded. However, a number of barriers currently limit the growth of this trade. These include regulatory complexity across the multiple jurisdictions within Africa; a lack of harmonised seed systems including certification, variety registration and phytosanitary standards; and limited market intelligence as well as some practical trade challenges like logistics of shipping and insurance. But, despite these challenges, there are clear opportunities—in particular, Australian expertise in forage and pasture seed, which aligns well with many African agroecological systems, particularly in eastern and southern Africa. There are often, also, opportunities for collaborative research, which we've just heard about from colleagues from ACIAR, regarding varietal development and the development of agronomic knowledge as well as seed exports. We think that government support will be very important in unlocking these opportunities around improved market intelligence and regulatory engagement, research partnerships and targeted exporter support. We may be small in value compared with other agricultural export industries, but, because we sit at the very beginning of the production chain, I think we offer something more than just the direct impact of the import of seed. Given that Austrade has reported that only 0.1 per cent of its global outcomes were facilitated in African markets, perhaps sectors like seed offer a good place to start—industries that are small, innovative and capable of building new trade relationships over time. Thank you, and we look forward to some questions. CHAIR: Thank you. I would just like to start with the seed-for-sowing industry and current trade between the Australian and African markets. Can you explain in a little bit more detail about some of that in a practical way and what some of the benefits are for African nations. Ms Delbridge : As I mentioned, the two main seed-for-sowing varieties that are sent at the moment are Rhodes grass and lucerne. They're quite different in what they present to different markets. Rhodes grass is tropical or subtropical, so the majority of our production in Australia for seed production is in Queensland. It's used for grazing production. It's very hardy and very persistent, so it works well in challenging climates. It also acts as a very good pasture choice for weed management. It's very adaptable to different tropical and subtropical climates as well as being very good at reducing nematodes in soils, so it's good for soil management, which assists with erosion. It's mainly being sent to Egypt as well as South Africa. Potentially, the other side of the coin is lucerne—or alfalfa, as it's known more in the global markets—which is a temperate variety which is used, in the majority, not only for grazing but also for silage, for that fodder side of the industry. It's predominantly grown here in South Australia, as well as in some of the other temperate markets across Victoria. It's a large export for us. It would be the No. 1 seed-for-sowing export. Africa is a big market and so is the Middle East. CHAIR: You mentioned before that there are more opportunities. What are some of those opportunities? Ms Delbridge : I think the opportunities really lie in being able to expand to additional nations that we aren't currently trading with. On the reasons that companies are not actively trading with some other nations, need has always come into it. But some of the actual challenges that we as an industry look at are the regulatory challenges of the different systems in place. I'll just explain, if I can, a little bit about some of the systems that we as the seed industry operate in. There's an OECD seed scheme with which some nations are around the world cooperate. There are 13 African nations which are part of the OECD's seed scheme. What that does is protect varietal integrity. So, if you have a variety that you have developed and protected yourself as part of the OECD seed scheme, that true certification and varietal integrity is protected. There's also UPOV, which is the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants. There are only six or seven African nations that are signatories to UPOV. There's a UPOV 78 and a UPOV 91. Six African nations are signed up to UPOV 91. Again, if you're particularly an Australian company that has bred a particular variety and you have it protected here, you generally are looking at trading with nations that are signatories to UPOV to ensure that your variety registration maintains approval. There's also the phytosanitary system. Internationally, that's handled through IPCC or the international plant phytosanitary consortia. The majority of nations are signatories to the IPCC. They develop the phytosanitary standards, but then it's up to countries whether or not they choose to implement those standards. Then the final one that I'd like to mention is ISTA, which is the International Seed Testing Association. There are 14 African nations that are signatories to that. Generally, the seed-testing part of the industry is very important for us as well because, if you have sent a shipment of seed that you believe will be accepted upon entry but then through the testing environment when it arrives it gets rejected based on a false positive—obviously there's always a risk that something will get flagged—generally companies aren't going to risk the investment of shipping something that may be rejected upon entry. So it's that phytosanitary regulatory landscape around protection as well that is one of the barriers. The other side that we talk about is the far more practical challenges of things—for example, if seed is living when it's being shipped it needs to be shipped in the right conditions in order for it to arrive and be able to be used by the people that have purchased the seed. If it's a long shipping channel and in humid conditions, seed may deteriorate. So trying to have the right facilitation and not being held in port for too long is a big challenge as well. So is the simple fact of trying to get insurance. Some companies just simply would not choose to trade with some African nations, because they could not have their shipment insured and, therefore, it's not worth the risk. CHAIR: Thank you. Deputy Chair. Senator COLBECK: There's some interesting stuff in all that. The first thing I wrote down at the start of my notes was on the time sensitivity of seed. You talked about the shipping routes. It's come up with us a few times. Most of the product would be containerised, I'm assuming. Ms Delbridge : Correct. Senator COLBECK: Are there any raw containers, effectively, not climate controlled or anything of that nature, to manage those? What is the time sensitivity of most of the seed products? What is the decrease in efficacy of the product the longer it's held for? Ms Delbridge : Particularly in the pasture seed industry, you do have a relatively long shelf life compared to some other parts of the seed industry. However, the harvest of that seed may have happened the season before it was actually shipped. Then, with that lengthy delay, generally the recommendation, particularly for something like the tropical seed market, is that you'd want to be moving that off port within 10 to 15 days. So anything longer than that might be held up due to constraints of the shipping industry on what's happening on port but also those phytosanitary conditions needing to be met. A real practical example as well of something that we in the industry are looking at to try to assist that movement—not so much in the shipping channels; that's what I would consider outside of our control—of seed faster when it does arrive onshore is introducing a systems approach for seed. There's currently a pilot project that's being looked at through the International Seed Federation. We are all globally connected as the local national seed association within the global network. What that pilot is looking at is saying that the onshore inspection, which seed heavily relies on, shouldn't be the only standard at which people are looking. There's a whole lot else that happens in the chain before you get to that point that matters in the biosecurity landscape. Was the very initial seed production done in a clean field? Were there inspections? Was the seed testing done onshore? In what conditions were they shipped? If there are a range of phytosanitary and biosecurity measures that governments could agree to, it could make the onshore inspection faster and move things through. We're trying to also understand where we as an industry can have impact. Interestingly, in that particular pilot, South Africa is one of the nations involved. So the South African National Plant Protection Organisation, as it's known globally, but it's simply through the Department of Agriculture within South Africa, is there. Our agriculture department here in Australia is very aware of the pilot. We are keeping them informed of progress because we would like to think that that could be something that Australia will be involved in in the future as well. Senator COLBECK: So the development of the continental free trade agreement and the biosecurity systems that might serve the continent and the variations in the continent we were talking with ACIAR earlier about would be of real value in supporting your trade? Ms Delbridge : Absolutely. Digitisation was mentioned as well. I take the point that some countries do want a piece of paper. The opportunities for fraud with a piece of paper are greater than with a digitised system. It's one of the reasons that countries are looking to go that way. But the ePhyto system has started in Australia. We have begun that work through the team at the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry with the Pacific nations initially. South Korea is, I think, the next nation that they're trying to engage with. There are a few others on their list. That's of great value to the seed industry—anything that is making that trade opportunity more efficient. Senator COLBECK: I just want to go back to timeliness for a moment. I was in another crop which is developing in this country but is significant in other jurisdictions. We were being told by those who were doing the R&D work on that that that it needed to be collected this year and planted next season, basically. Hemp is what I'm talking about—industrial hemp, not the other type. It needed to be planted within a season or its efficacy fell away quickly. So that's an important part of the transport system or the delivery systems. Ms Delbridge : Yes, absolutely. Again, not all seed that is shipped is treated. But, in some industries, it's all treated or even coated. I'm thinking about things like vegetable seed. That's a very different part of the market. But there'd also be efficacy levels for the treatment chemistry that is applied to the seed as well. Senator COLBECK: That would also be a requirement of supply, wouldn't it? You want to get a strong crop out of your seed. Ms Delbridge : Correct. Senator COLBECK: You need high germination. Ms Delbridge : High germination—exactly. And that's part of the standardised testing system that we operate in, which is through those ISTA international principles of understanding germination and purity. Those are probably the two big numbers that that people are looking at—exactly right. Again, across the range of something like a vegetable seed industry, which is far more high-value, low-quantity seed, versus something like a grass seed, which is a higher quantity that people would be importing, the germination rates that people find acceptable do vary slightly. But, as you said, people want a crop. Senator COLBECK: In terms of the products that we are exporting—you talked about plant protection and the IP—and in terms of who holds the IP for the product that's coming out of Australia, who are the main players? Are we talking Monsanto and those sorts of organisations doing the bulk of the R&D and holding most of the IP? Ms Delbridge : In some sectors, those more global, multinational companies are the ones that dominate the market. However, in the pasture industry, for both the tropics and the temperate pastures in Australia, there are far more small Australian businesses that own those plant variety protections. If I tried to go through a list, it would be like an Oscars speech, and I'd miss the most important one. But I'd be happy, if it's of interest, to provide a list of names of our members that operate in that space so that you can also see the geographical spread of those companies. There's both international investment and investment by Australian companies, but all of them are breeding for the Australian market primarily and then the export market as well. As I mentioned, we have a lot of similar conditions that you can see in Australia versus the African markets, but it is the seed company that holds those variety protection rights. Senator COLBECK: I understand that. I was just interested to know some of the hierarchy of that—who's holding it, how our trade was being managed, particularly by some of those international players, or whether or not we've got locals who are eager to expand their supply range and therefore grow their business. In terms of the Australian R&D system—I'm assuming that you're pretty closely engaged with GRDC—how does that plug in from the work that you would do with them? What are your relationships with organisations such as ACIAR? Those would perhaps bulk up some capacity and support engagement with some of those African nations and therefore develop a knowledge base which would then build into a trade relationship. Ms Delbridge : Absolutely. If I could mention as well—in the R&D space in Australia, AgriFutures is the one that looks after pasture seed. There are six varieties of pasture seed which are levied. I know you understand the R&D system, and leucine is one of those. Some of them are some other clover varieties, but not all pasture seeds attract a levy. The R&D space that we would be talking about more in the export opportunities for Africa I think sits firmly with AgriFutures. Again, it's a smaller market than something like GRDC is looking at. When we're talking about the work that GRDC is doing, there's a huge grain export to Africa, like there is everywhere. However, it's not going into seed for sowing; it's grains for other parts of— Senator COLBECK: Bulk grains. Ms Delbridge : Exactly—bulk grains for other purposes. But it's absolutely an important piece. I mention as well that we, the board of the Australian Seed Federation, which are all member seed companies, had a first meeting with ACIAR in December to do exactly as you're saying. They said that private opportunities for partnership are really important to them. They're also important for our industry. Globally, the work that's done on some of these smaller varieties and Indigenous seed were topics. The native seed industry in Australia has always been there and been strong but perhaps not been formalised. That's a piece of work that a number of the native seed companies are doing at the moment to try and also understand what the export opportunities are. There are some excellent native pasture varieties that would be suited, I expect, very well to African climates across the board that we aren't capitalising on. Senator COLBECK: Thank you. CHAIR: Ms Clutterham. Ms CLUTTERHAM: I think you indicated that Egypt and South Africa are the primary markets. We always say Africa, but there are 54 countries within the African continent. Where is the next target for the seed sowing? Ms Delbridge : Sudan and Morocco—there is some, but it's not huge. Actually, for Morocco, in the lucerne market, we can provide some specific numbers on notice, but I think that that one is getting up there. In particular, there have been some changes to some of the trade to the Middle East in the last few years based on water usage decisions within the Middle East, so, again, Australian companies then need to look for new markets. Senegal, Zimbabwe, Algeria and Kenya are the next ones on our list. They're the names that I've got from our member companies that are looking. I don't know if they're all on—as I mentioned, there are 13 signed up to OECD; there are only six on the UPOV. So they are certainly the ones that would be a higher priority because it gives the companies more assurance. Ms CLUTTERHAM: You identified language as a barrier to building. Do you see indications or evidence of a dedicated strategy from government in relation to the development of African language skills? I would put it in terms of agricultural business community. So I don't just mean French, Portuguese and Arabic. They are obviously critical languages—but other African languages as well. Ms Delbridge : It's a very interesting question. I haven't seen anything that gives any evidence to suggest—as in from a government response level. The reason that we wanted to mention language as part of our submission is that the seed industry is incredibly in person. There is a world seed congress, an African seed trade congress, a Euroseeds congress and an Asia-Pacific congress. People buy a trade table—it looks like an exam hall—and people, over three days, have meetings of 15 minutes. For a lot of companies, that's their entire seed sales done for the year. Senator COLBECK: So speed dating! Ms Delbridge : It's seed dating! I think it's quite unique; therefore, it does mean that if people can't have that in-person communication, which is what the industry still relies heavily on, then they're missing out on opportunities. The African Seed Trade Association has its next congress in two weeks. There are Australian companies that will be in attendance. We're never the biggest part; most of that is domestic trade. Also, at the world seed congress, there are always African companies present to trade, but they often face visa challenges irrespective of where it is in the world. Ms CLUTTERHAM: We've heard a lot throughout this inquiry about—I guess I'd put it in terms of a very unfair risk perception of doing business in Africa. It's not regulatory specific but in relation to security, corruption and money laundering, which is the usual list of suspects. That is a barrier for Australian businesses wanting to trade in Africa or grow a business. Do you have that same sense? Is there a reluctance because of these risk perceptions in your industry, and, if so, what can be done to minimise them? Ms Delbridge : Our members raised insurance as their biggest practical challenge. There would absolutely be some views across companies that may have experienced issues in the past with some of what you've mentioned. However, I think we have a very willing industry to build those relationships. Generally, the people that work for our member companies that are going to markets to trade are very happy to have those conversations within the continent. They travel frequently across South America, the Middle East and Africa. They are big-opportunity markets. Perhaps there's more potential, with maybe fewer competitors looking at some of those individual nations, so that's where they see opportunity. So, if there are opportunities for trade delegations, I think we would have a very willing industry to be part of something if—outcomes that came from this particular inquiry. CHAIR: Thank you for your time today. If you have been asked to provide any additional information, please forward it to the secretariat by Friday 10 April 2026. Please note that responses to questions on notice will be published on the website as submissions to the inquiry. You will be sent a copy of the transcript of your evidence to assist you with answering any questions taken on notice today, and you will have an opportunity to request corrections to any transcription errors. Proceedings suspended from 10:46 to 10:57 .