The name e-commerce, now commonly adopted, refers to the activities of buying and selling products via the internet: websites, apps, marketplaces. A great opportunity that hides many risks, especially for some sectors, like the seed industry.
“Electronic commerce” has its origins in the 1970s and 1980s, but it is with the advent of the internet that it takes shape according to current patterns. Starting in 2000, e-commerce experienced exponential growth, reaching a peak during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Transactions can take place between companies (B2B), or between a company and a private individual (B2C), or between the same private individuals, almost from any country to any other. It is clear how the connections can theoretically be countless and hence the great problem of controls.
The products involved are many and varied: from tourism to clothing, from electronics to insurances, to food, etc.
Global e-commerce sales are expected to grow from $ 5.13 trillion in 2022 to $ 8.092 trillion by 2028. In 2024, total online transaction revenue exceeded $ 6 trillion, after an 8.4% increase over the previous year.
China and the United States are the largest contributors to global e-commerce.
Overall, European B2C e-commerce revenue was € 718 billion in 2021, a 13% increase over 2020.
The seed/nursery sector is increasingly involved in e-commerce, especially with regard to horticultural and ornamental species.
Seeds and Plants at Risk of Pollution and Illegality
Transactions of seeds and seedlings, especially C2C (person to person) ones, are difficult to trace and often made without tax documents. Furthermore, the material usually comes from small private productions or from natural environments, so the identification of species and varieties may not be correct and not subject to mandatory phytosanitary controls.
The possible absence of a clear declaration of the contents of the package and the large number of small packages in circulation (in total, 159 billion of parcels worldwide in 2021, up more than 20% from 2020) currently makes systematic control by customs almost impossible.
Often, those who sell and even those who buy seeds and seedlings, for home gardens or to decorate their house with greenery, have no idea of the complex legislation that regulates the production and global trade of plants and seeds and the consequent risks that non-compliance with the regulations entails.
The probability of infesting cultivated and spontaneous plants with diseases or alien organisms is very high, with potential economic and environmental damage that is difficult to estimate.
Last but not least, during the transaction, possible illegalities may develop, against intellectual property and competition rules, causing significant damage to the seed and nursery sector.
Possible Actions
It is no coincidence that some global organizations, such as the World Trade Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) through the International Plant Protection Convention, and the International Seed Federation are taking action to try to bring Initiatives related to e-commerce into legality and safety.
In 2014, the Commission on Phytosanitary Measures, a FAO body that identifies actions for plant protection at a global level, adopted a series of recommendations to prevent the spread of diseases with e-commerce. This text can be an excellent operational basis for governments and their respective control bodies.
It is divided into some essential points: 1) identify in each country the operators who trade via the internet; 2) establish mechanisms to identify products purchased via e-commerce, with particular attention to those at high risk, such as plants, seeds, soils and living organisms, and to evaluate risk management actions; 3) investigate the phytosanitary risks related to e-commerce; 4) collaborate with postal services and couriers so that information on phytosanitary risks is transmitted to operators; 5) promote compliance, by traders and consumers who operate via e-commerce, with the phytosanitary import requirements of importing countries and provide adequate information on the risks arising from circumventing these requirements; 6) increase awareness of the risks arising from circumventing phytosanitary regulations.
In short: on the one hand, it is necessary to know the actors in this supply chain, to inform them and control their movements; on the other, the aim is to lead these subjects to operate in an ethical and responsible way. Particular attention must be paid to consumers: they are often enthusiastic about nature, organic products and greenery, but unaware that buying on the internet can cause, even if involuntarily, illegal actions and damage to agriculture and the environment.
Effective and prolonged communication by governments in the main media can be very convincing and effective in the mid-term.
Editor’s Note: Franco Brazzabeni is commercial and marketing consultant in the international agribusiness, member of Assosementi and of ISF Groups and writes a blog on www.agrinotes.it.
