Seed RFQ Specification Checklist
The fields a commercial seed request must carry before independent suppliers can quote on the same basis — from crop and seed class to germination, treatment, phytosanitary requirements and delivery terms. Written for farm-scale, distributor and tender volumes.
What should a commercial seed RFQ contain?
A commercial seed RFQ should state crop and species, variety or accepted equivalents, hybrid or open-pollinated, quantity and planted area, destination country and port, planting window, minimum germination and analytical purity, moisture, seed class and certification scheme, treatment, phytosanitary and import requirements, packaging format, Incoterm, delivery deadline and quality terms. Without those fields, offers are not comparable.
- Six blocks: crop and variety, quantity and season, quality specification, treatment and certification, plant health and documents, packaging and terms
- Germination and purity are specified as minimums and verified on the lot analysis report
- Import and variety-registration rules are set by the destination's plant-protection authority
Crop and variety
Naming the crop alone produces offers that cannot be compared. Suppliers need the genetic target.
- Crop and species (for example bread wheat, two-row barley, grain maize, alfalfa)
- Variety or hybrid name, or the traits an equivalent must match
- Hybrid (F1) or open-pollinated, and whether farm-saving is intended
- Required disease-resistance or tolerance package
- Maturity group and days to harvest for the destination's season
- Whether GMO material is permitted at destination (many countries prohibit it)
Quantity, season and destination
Volume and planting date decide who can actually supply, and at what price.
- Quantity in kg or metric tons, plus the split between a trial lot and the bulk order
- Area to be planted and intended seed rate, if the quantity is derived from area
- Destination country, port of entry and final delivery point
- Planting window and the latest acceptable arrival date at site
- Whether the requirement repeats each season or is a one-off order
Quality specification
These are the numbers offers are compared on, and the numbers a lot is later accepted against.
- Minimum germination percentage and the test method behind it
- Minimum analytical purity, with limits on other crop seed, weed seed and inert matter
- Maximum moisture content
- Seed class or certification generation (pre-basic, basic, C1, C2)
- Thousand-kernel weight or seed count per kg, where sowing is calibrated
- Vigour test where establishment risk matters
- Lot-level seed analysis report required with the offer or before shipment
Treatment and certification
Treatment and certification are regulated, and both must be agreed before production is committed.
- Treated or untreated, and the active substances permitted at destination
- Coating, pelleting or priming requirements
- Certification scheme and issuing authority (national scheme, OECD seed scheme, ISTA analysis)
- Variety registration or national listing status at destination, where required for commercial planting
- Traceability back to the multiplication field and harvest year
Plant health and import documents
Import rules are set by the destination's plant-protection authority and should be confirmed before an order, not after shipment.
- Phytosanitary certificate under IPPC rules, with any additional declarations the destination demands
- Import permit obtained in advance, where required
- Pest-free area or specific test requirements stated by the destination
- Certificate of origin, treatment declaration, packing list and commercial invoice
- Labelling language and content required on each bag
Packaging, logistics and terms
The commercial frame decides whether quotes are genuinely like-for-like.
- Packaging format: sealed tins, 1/5/25 kg bags, big bags, or units of seed count
- Palletisation, container type and any temperature or humidity condition in transit
- Incoterm and named place
- Delivery deadline, and acceptable partial shipment
- Payment terms, and quality, rejection and replacement terms
- Sample requirement for a local trial before the bulk commitment
How to evaluate a commercial seed supplier
Once offers arrive, they are compared on evidence rather than on presentation. The criteria below are the ones that change a procurement decision.
- Certification scheme, seed class and issuing authority
- Lot number and traceability to the multiplication field and harvest year
- Tested germination, analytical purity and moisture on the offered lot
- Genetic and varietal purity evidence
- Disease status, treatment used and permitted actives at destination
- Production origin and eligibility for the destination market
- Export experience and documentation record to that country
- Delivery capacity against the planting date, including partial shipment
- Sample availability for a local trial before bulk commitment
- Written quality, rejection and replacement terms
SeedMatchGroup is a supplier-neutral sourcing platform. It does not produce, own or certify seed, and certification remains the responsibility of the official scheme and the producer.