SAATEN-UNION becomes more International

In 2007 for the first time, SAATEN-UNION GmbH’s export sales will exceed our turnover in the German seed market. If the sales of SAATEN-UNION foreign subsidiaries are included, this “transition” happened almost two years ago. Even though our varieties market shares in some countries such as the Czech Republic, are already to those in Germany, SAATEN-UNION’s future growth potential will be outside of Germany.

Our breeding has already been adjusted for this future growth: breeding facilities have been established in France and the U.K. to develop varieties adapted to maritime climate; testing facilities for winter-hardiness or drought resistance in Northern and Eastern Europe have been extended, not only for conventional varieties, but for hybrids of oil-seed-rape, rye and wheat as well. Special focus has been given to testing our maize varieties under hot and dry conditions and heavy disease pressure at our locations in Southeast Europe. The breeding of the first Diabrotica-resistant maize variety SUNRISE is one spectacular output of these investments. The success of our winter and spring oilseed rape varieties from our breeding units NPZ-Lembke and RAPS GbR in Eastern Europe have already confirmed the soundness of our investments in these countries.

Our challenge for the next decade will be to get SAATEN-UNION as strongly established in the main other seed markets of Europe as it is in Germany, which certainly will remain a strong base for SAATEN-UNION, but will probably be considered only as one country equal to others regarding our seed sales in future.

The recent appointment of our new Dutch General Manager Dethmer Schuitema is a logic consequence of this international approach of the SAATEN-UNION group. With his solid knowledge of the seed markets in Europe and other continents as well he certainly will
strongly support our international ambitions of growth in future.

Dethmer Schuitema, Managing Director
Dr. Ernst-Adolf Loop, Head of International Department