At the end of its 100th year of developing and selling seeds throughout the world, Sakata Seed is going into 2014 with the same mission that guided it through its first century of business.
“Vegetables nourish bodies and flowers nourish souls, so Sakata should be a company that offers nourishment and happiness throughout the world,” said Sakata's President, Hiroshi Sakata. As a global provider of vegetable and flower seeds, Sakata emphasized the roles of craftsmanship and passion, which he said distinguishes his company from their competitors, in their business, the fruits of which can be seen in their track record. He also stressed the importance of Gemba, which is a Japanese word that roughly translates to the actual place where things take place, and that, along with the importance of leading his company with face-to-face dialogues, helped Sakata Seed achieve lofty benchmarks last year.
“We achieved record-high consolidated sales in the fiscal year that ended in May 2013,” said Sakata,” and our goal next year is to achieve an even greater turnover.” To achieve that, the company will introduce new products and gain a larger presence in several markets. Although they're an Asian company, Sakata noted that they want to increase their presence in markets like China and India in order to capitalize on rapidly-increasing populations there.
“Those Asian markets are increasing rapidly due to a growing demand for produce,” said Sakata, “and the transition from open pollinated to F1 varieties is also growing in those markets.” Additionally, breeding and production of Brassica has been a big part of Sakata Seed's business, with their Broccoli varieties enjoying over a 60 percent global market share. Sakata added that he expects his company to meet the needs that a growing world requires, and he knows they can do that by responding to market needs.
“Population increases, climate change, safety and security concerns about food – the challenges we face are countless, and the role that the agri-horticultural industry plays to meet those challenges is becoming increasingly important,” said Sakata. “Yet, I am confident that Sakata is ready to meet those challenges by mobilizing the full capacity of our group.”
Contact details:
Toshihide Shimizu
General Manager of A & P dept.
Sakata Seed Corporation
0081-45-945-8800
t-Shimizu@sakata-seed.jp
www.sakataseed.co.jp
Sakata Seed Corporation
0081-45-945-8800
t-Shimizu@sakata-seed.jp
www.sakataseed.co.jp