How illegal seed reproduction quietly distorts markets, and why the Anti-Infringement Bureau is turning hidden risk into measurable deterrence.
Illegal seed practices rarely make headlines. They do not unfold dramatically at border crossings or in televised raids. More often, they happen quietly, a parent line disappears, a hybrid is reproduced without authorisation, seed is multiplied outside agreed channels. Small acts, perhaps. But multiplied across markets and seasons, they distort entire value chains. That is precisely what the Anti-Infringement Bureau for IP Rights on Plant Material (AIB) set out to measure.
The recently published ‘Impact & Insights Report 2023–25’ offers something the vegetable seed sector has long lacked: structured intelligence on infringement. Not anecdotes. Not rumours. Data.
“Without structured detection and reporting, most infringement activity remains invisible,” says Ignacio Giacchi, Managing Director of AIB. “Increased visibility does not mean more crime, it means better intelligence.”
An 86% Increase, But Not What You Think
Between 2023 and 2025, infringement reporting increased by approximately 86%, rising from 29 reports in 2023 to 54 in 2025. At first glance, that number could be alarming. But AIB is clear: the rise reflects improved visibility, not necessarily a sudden explosion in wrongdoing.
Over the past three years, AIB has systematically collected and analysed enforcement case data across multiple markets, transforming isolated cases into structured intelligence. In other words, the sector is no longer operating in the dark.
“For seed companies, the real risk is not knowing the actual extent of the problem,” Giacchi explains. “When we can measure it, we can manage it.”
Training as a Detection Engine
One of the most encouraging findings in the report is the link between training and reporting. Training activity increased by more than 200% since 2023, and reporting rose alongside it.
Training, AIB stresses, does not create infringement. It converts unreported activity into actionable intelligence. “When people understand what illegal reproduction actually looks like, they recognise it,” says Basile de Bary, CEO of SAKATA Vegetables Europe and Chairman of the AIB Board of Directors. “Training builds confidence. And confidence leads to reporting.”
Nearly 40% of AIB’s training effort is directed not at member companies, but at authorities, ministries of agriculture, police, customs and seed inspection agencies, that focus is strategic.
“Deterrence is created long before courtrooms,” Giacchi notes. “When authorities know what to look for, seed-related cases rise in priority.”
The report provides a concrete example: following AIB training activities in Türkiye in 2024, inspections by the Antalya Provincial Directorate led to nurseries being examined and roughly 50% fined for irregularities. That is not reaction. That is structural change.
The Uncomfortable Truth
Perhaps the most sobering section of the report comes on page 23, where AIB addresses what it calls “the uncomfortable truth”. Illegal reproduction is not primarily driven by organised criminals at the margins. It is driven by actors within the value chain, growers, plant raisers, distributors and, at times, seed companies themselves.
Data from 2023–2025 shows that downstream value-chain actors account for the majority of infringement involvement. Distributors, in particular, show a sharp increase in detected involvement in 2025.
“This is not about ‘bad outsiders’,” says de Bary. “It is about vulnerabilities within our own commercial ecosystem. If we want fairness in the seed sector, we have to acknowledge that reality.”
“Risk Is Concentrated – But Not Confined”
Certain countries, Italy, Türkiye, Egypt and Morocco, account for a substantial share of reports. Hiring Technical Coordinators in key markets coincided with reporting surges, particularly in Türkiye (2024) and Egypt (2025). Yet the issue is not confined to hotspots. The number of non-hotspot countries reporting increased over the period analysed.
Infringement risk, AIB concludes, is geographically adaptive. “Risk is concentrated, but it is not confined,” Giacchi says. “The question is not whether infringement is occurring beyond core markets — it is whether we can mobilise the necessary resources to detect and address it.”
Three Crops, Most of the Risk
The data shows that infringement is highly concentrated in a small number of crops. Since 2023, approximately 63% of infringement reports relate to just three crops—tomato, lettuce, and onion. This concentration enables more targeted and effective prevention strategies.
One example is the Seed Pelleting Audit Scheme. Through annual audits, seed sampling and DNA analysis against a centralised database, AIB secures a critical upstream supply-chain node.
In lettuce, infringement detection at the pelleting stage increased from 11% in 2023 to around 14.5% in 2025. The report emphasises that stable detection rates reflect improved visibility, not worsening behaviour.
Commercially, the implications are significant. With the EU lettuce seed market estimated at approximately €215 million, the detected infringement signal implies around €31 million of seed potentially affected.
“Even small reductions in risk translate into meaningful revenue protection,” de Bary says. “This is not theoretical. It is commercial reality.”
From Case Building to Case Execution
Since 2023, enforcement has been deliberately investigation-heavy, with 2024 marking a peak in intelligence-led enforcement. The rebound in enforcement share in 2025 suggests a transition from case building to case execution, a more mature and structured enforcement pipeline.
AIB’s ambition is not simply to respond to infringements, but to reshape the enforcement environment itself. “Individual companies cannot address systemic infringement alone,” Giacchi emphasises. “Scale and continuity matter. That is what collective action provides.”
A Collective Action Imperative
Illegal seed practices distort entire markets, not just individual balance sheets. Pricing fairness erodes. Return on varietal investment weakens. Trust across the value chain is strained. Without AIB, infringement remains fragmented, local and largely unseen. With AIB, it becomes identifiable, actionable and increasingly risky.
“The seed sector thrives on innovation,” de Bary concludes. “But innovation only works in an environment where rules are respected. AIB helps create that environment, not through over-enforcement, but through smarter, actionable intelligence.”
Three years of data suggest something important: the sector is no longer guessing. It is measuring. And in doing so, it is turning what was once invisible into something far harder to ignore.
Five Key Takeaways for Seed Companies
1. Visibility is rising, and that is a good thing.
An 86% increase in infringement reporting since 2023 does not signal a surge in crime. It reflects better detection, improved intelligence and greater trust in reporting mechanisms.
2. Training drives enforcement.
With training activity up more than 200% since 2023, awareness is translating directly into actionable cases. Nearly 40% of AIB’s training targets authorities, building enforcement capacity long before courtrooms are involved.
3. Risk is concentrated — but not confined
Italy, Türkiye, Egypt and Morocco remain core hotspots. At the same time, increased reporting in non-hotspot countries indicates that infringement risk is widespread, and only becomes visible where monitoring and engagement are in place.
4. Three crops carry most exposure.
Tomato, lettuce and onion account for nearly two-thirds of detected infringement risk. Targeted prevention in these crops delivers substantial impact.
5. Small risk reductions protect significant revenue.
In lettuce alone, the EU market is valued at ~€215 million. A detected infringement signal of ~14.5% implies around €31 million potentially affected. Even modest improvements in compliance translate into meaningful commercial protection.
