Rijk Zwaan in top 4 largest vegetable seed companies

Vegetable breeding company Rijk Zwaan achieved a net turnover of €2019 million in the 2020/447 financial year. The company is thus achieving growth of 8,5% compared to the previous financial year. With a market share of approximately 9%, Rijk Zwaan is now one of the top 4 largest companies in the global vegetable seed market.

Although the organization has had a good financial year, the corona crisis also caused them headaches. "The last quarter of the 2019/2020 financial year was characterized by the worldwide outbreak of Covid-19. This presented us with many logistical challenges," says Ben Tax, member of the board of directors of Rijk Zwaan. "Fortunately, the so-called 'green lanes' approach kept the borders open for our sector and allowed us to continue our business processes (sometimes slightly modified)."

Plenty of room for investments
In the 2019/2020 financial year, Rijk Zwaan had plenty of room for investment. For example, the family business invested €130 million in 'Research & Development', an amount equivalent to 27,5% of the annual turnover. "We use that money for research into biotechnology, seed quality and phytopathology, among other things, in order to accelerate our breeding." For example, last year Rijk Zwaan introduced fusarium-resistant cucumber varieties and the first hairless aubergine variety, with better resistance to insect infestation.

Investments have also been made in new production, research and office facilities. For example, the new head office, also a research and demo station of Rijk Zwaan China, was opened in May and new facilities were put into use in Chile and Poland. The company will also complete the construction of a new breeding location for aubergines, tomatoes and peppers in De Lier during this financial year. The largest investment in new construction to date.

Confidence in the future
The family business looks to the future with confidence. "We see that the different sales chains all react differently to the corona crisis. If the travel restrictions last longer, the challenges will also increase for our company. That is a threat, but the growing social attention for healthy food, among other things, means that we do. can take a beating," concludes Tax.

Kimberly Baker

Kimberly Bakker is an all-round editor at Boerenbusiness. She also has an eye for the social media channels of Boerenbusiness.

k.baker @boerenbusiness. Nl

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