Miller Magazine Issue: 144 December 2021

66 COVER STORY MILLER / december 2021 BIG OPPORTUNITIES One main reason for the booming popularity of seeds and grain - and for experts forecasting that sales will keep ris- ing for years to come - is income growth in highly-populated developing nations. Every year, millions of more people find they have more money to spend on fast-moving consumer goods, including food. We have already seen seismic shifts in global consumerism because of economic growth in the earth’s most populous nation, China - and a recent study of 130 nations by economic analysts FocusEconomics conclud- ed that the world’s fastest-growing economy in the next five years will be that of the second-most populous, India. The other main reason is the strengthening trend, par- ticularly in developed nations, for healthy foods. Shoppers are increasingly looking for ‘clean-label’ products containing natural and nutritious ingredients, meaning that seeds and grains are being added to more foods than ever before. The best-selling examples of this are bread, bakery goods, and snack bars - all produced and consumed in vast quantities. This is more than just a consumer fad or a blip on sales graphs. Market researchers forecast that during the next five years (and probably for much longer) the seed market will expand in annual value at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6-8%, rising from $63bn in 2020 to $85-90bn in 2025. In the same period, the grain market is expected to expand at a CAGR of about 6%, from $1,150bn to $1,556bn. It is also worth remembering that grains include coffee beans, the source of one of the most widely-consumed drinks on the planet. Coffee prices reached new record highs in fall 2021, according to the World Coffee Organiza- tion. Though crop prices fluctuate because of weather con- ditions and variable yields, global demand is heading relent- lessly upwards. Over the next five years, the annual value of the coffee bean market is expected to increase from $27bn at a CAGR of 6.7%. Much of this growth is being driven by ris- ing demand for coffee capsules for home consumption and the opening of new franchise outlets such as CCD and Star- bucks in many nations worldwide - including China and India. PROCESSING CHALLENGES The key challenge facing processors is that new sales con- quests are most likely to be made in export markets where product imperfections aren’t tolerated. This makes it more important than ever for processing lines to detect and eject foreign materials, defective products, cross-contaminated The increasing global demand for seeds and grains, including seed corn and coffee beans, is a great opportunity for food processors to swell their revenue streams. To profit from these expanding markets, however, it is necessary to overcome some oper- ational challenges. Here we identify those challenges, take a brief look at the technol- ogies available to solve them, and explain why they can open doors to new business. How seed and grain processors can profit from the latest sorting technologies?