April 2025 Newsletter
Dear APSA members and partners,
April came with a big splash as we celebrated the Water Festival in several countries in Southeast Asia. Here in Thailand where the APSA Secretariat is located, this celebration also marks the Thai New Year. It was a meaningful time for us as we slowed down for a few days to visit hometowns and reconnect with our families.
Last April 22nd, we held a Field Crops webinar on the very interesting topic of soil health. The technical team will tell you more about that as they give updates on the activities of the Standing Committees and Special Interest Groups. But for now, I would just like to remind everyone that, as APSA members, you should not miss the chance to access exclusive opportunities like these webinars to expand your knowledge.
The end of April also means one thing: we are opening registration very soon for the Asian Seed Congress! Be ready on May 2nd, 8:00AM IndoChina time, as we open the registration for the Asian Seed Congress in Mumbai. The theme this year is Sowing Prosperity through Quality Seed. The APSA Secretariat and our partners in India are working diligently to prepare for another monumental congress.
Speaking of preparing the way, we are already working in parallel for the 2026 congress. In two weeks, APSA’s Events Manager Mike and myself will be meeting our colleagues in Türkiye to make a site visit to potential venues for the 2026 Asian Seed Congress in Antalya.
And just after that, I will be proceeding to Istanbul to attend the ISF World Seed Congress 2025, where I hope to meet APSA members – and would-be members. If you’re there and you’d like to know more about APSA’s benefits for members, reach out to me! I would love to share with you the many good reasons to join Asia-Pacific’s largest seed network.
And remember, #SeedComesFirst
Cheers,
Francine Sayoc,
Executive Director
THANK YOU to our digital media sponsors
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2025 APSA Seed Technology Webinar – Session 1
APSA will be holding Session 2 of the 2025 APSA Field Crops Webinar on the 22nd of May 2025 and will focus on Sustainable Seed Enhancement. This session will feature 3 guest speakers: Dr. Helena Freitas, Centre for Functional Ecology - Science for People & the Planet, University of Coimbra; Barry Hoff, Lead Research Scientist, Incotec; and Carola Peters, Lead Application Scientist, Incotec. Participation for this event is FREE for all active APSA Members. For more details on agenda, speaker profile, and for registration, please visit the official event page at https://web.apsaseed.org/events/2025-apsa-seed-technology-webinar-session-2
2025 Asian Seed Congress
We are happy to announce that registration for the 2025 Asian Seed Congress will open on the 2nd of May 2025!
The 2025 Asian Seed Congress will be held at the JIO World Convention Center (JWCC) in Mumbai, India from the 17th to the 21st of November 2025, and will be co-hosted by the National Seed Association of India (NSAI) and the Federation of Seed Industries of India (FSII). This year’s congress theme is “Sowing Prosperity Through Quality Seed” and will feature exciting Technical Sessions.
Register Now to benefit from the Early-Bird discounted rate of 750 USD. Early-Bird Registration period will close 30 June 2025. Regular Registration will cost 800 USD and Late Registration will cost 850 USD.
Also available at this year’s congress will be 210 trading tables, 15 semi-private meeting rooms, 5 private meeting rooms and 32 regular exhibition booths and 6 super booths.
We recommend all APSA Members to register early since acquiring a conference visa to enter India may take a couple of months for some countries.
For more information on congress agenda, rate sheet, official floor plan, India Visa & Import Policy, how to register and other congress related details, please visit the official event page at https://web.apsaseed.org/asc2025
Other Seed Related Events
The 27th International Pepper Conference, hosted by the World Vegetable Center, will be held in Bangkok, Thailand from the 19th to the 22nd of January 2026. This premier event brings together global experts, researchers, industry leaders, and pepper enthusiasts to share the latest innovations and insights in pepper breeding, production, and research. For those who are interested in attending, registration is now open. Early-Bird Registration will close on 12 September 2025.
We also invite companies and organizations to support this international gathering as official sponsors. Sponsorship packages offer excellent visibility before, during, and after the event, with benefits including exhibition space, logo placements, and complimentary registrations.
Whether you're a researcher, part of the pepper industry, or a pepper enthusiast, this is your chance to connect and learn about peppers on a global scale.
For more information, please visit https://worldvegetablecenter.org/pepper-conference/
Technical Affairs Updates
Standing Committees and Special Interest Groups
First and foremost, we are pleased to announce the new APSA Special Interest Group for Seed Production—a focused initiative to connect reliable vegetable and field crop seed production companies across the Asia-Pacific region with APSA seed company members!
The formation of this group responds to increasing demand for trusted seed production partnerships and addresses challenges such as phytosanitary regulations, intellectual property practices, and plant variety protection. With support from the APSA Executive Committee, this SIG aims to foster collaboration, exchange best practices, and strengthen seed production capabilities within the region.
The nominations for the APSA SIG on Seed Production is now open until May 23rd. For more info, please contact Ms Kuna, our Knowledge and Research Programs Manager.
SC International Trade & Quarantines
The APSA Standing Committee on International Trade and Quarantine (SC ITQ) had its 2nd committee meeting this month. The committee discussed and reviewed the APSA 2025 Phytosanitary Expert Consultation which was successfully held in February, the committee members also discussed the topics for the upcoming Asian Seed Congress Technical Session. Seed movement related topics will still be one of the important themes of the Technical Sessions.
SC IPR & Biodiversity
The Standing Committee for IPR & Biodiversity (SC IPR&BIO) also had its 2nd meeting this month, besides the continuous work on the Plant Variety Protection (PVP) fact sheet which aim to provide clear and concise information, the committee also discussed and prepared for the APSA 2025 Regional PVP&ABS Consultation which will be held at the end of August, and the topics of the ASC 2025 Technical Sessions. The 1st draft of the PVP fact sheet is developed and under the committee’s review, followed by a 2nd review of the Seed Associations. Once it is finalized, it will be shared to the members.
The Standing Committee on Plant Breeding Innovation
The Standing Committee on Plant Breeding Innovation (SC PBI) had its 2nd committee meeting at the end of March. The members continued preparing for one of the APSA flagship events the “APSA Regional PBI Consultation 2025” which will be held on July 8-9 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which aims to provide a platform for public and private partners to discuss PBI related topics. The members also updated the policy development in the region and prepare for the upcoming Asian Seed Congress Technical Session.
Let us move to an update from Standing Committee on Seed Technology:
We would like to extend our sincere appreciation to Mr. Kun Hao, a committee member from the China National Seed Trade Association (CNSTA), who retired from Syngenta this month. Mr. Hao has been an invaluable resource to the APSA Seed Technology Committee. His contributions will be fondly remembered, and we wish him all the best in his retirement.
In the second quarter meeting of the Seed Tech Committee earlier this month, the committee decided to rename the "InnoTech Showcase" to "SEEDBIZ FORUM" for a paid session at the APSA Asian Seed Congress. This session will be distinct from the free technical sessions to avoid confusion and emphasize its commercial, company-driven nature. The SEEDBIZ FORUM will provide a limited quota for companies to present their insights, strategic visions, products, and innovations. Registration for this session will open on May 2nd, alongside the ASC Mumbai.
On another note, the registration for the APSA Seed Technology Webinar Session 2: Sustainable seed enhancement to be held on May 22 at 1.00 – 3.00 pm GMT+7 will be opened in early May. See more details from Mike’s event section of this newsletter. Lastly, we will also have some exciting news about the new platform for the APSA Seed Academy. Stay tuned for more updates!
Next is an update from SIG Field Crops:
The committee warmly welcome a new member, Mrs Cherry Wang, Deputy General Manager from Winstar Seed Company Limited, a subsidiary of Winall Hi-tech Seed Co., Ltd. Mrs Wang has an extensive background in field crops marketing and management. The committee look forward to her contribution to the committee.
This month the committee had the 2nd quarter meeting with Dr Ajay Panchbhai Global Partnerships and Capacity Building Lead of CGIAR to discuss possible collaboration between the two organizations. On another note, the committee was very pleased to informed that the first APSA Field Crops webinar series this year was held successfully on April 22, 2025. Two distinguished experts, Dr. Tan Wei Loon, Senior Agronomist at Green World Genetics and Asst Prof Dr. Audthasit Wongmaneeroj, Department of Soil Science, Kasetsart University and Vice President of the Soil and Fertilizer Society of Thailand had a very interesting presentation with engaged questions from participants.
Lastly, they also agreed to organize a Field Crops study tour this year. Stay tuned for more details!
Moving to the Special Interest Group on Vegetables and Ornamentals
The group discussed during the 2nd quarter meeting on the possibility to organize the SIG Veg & Orn study tour. Spain was proposed as one of the options for the tour indeed. The next topic was to discuss on topics for the technical session in the ASC Mumbai to match on the main theme of “Sowing Prosperity through Quality Seed”. Stay tuned for more updates!
The Working Group of Integrated Vegetable Seed Companies or WIC
The planning for the WIC Midterm Meeting will be held on June 2, 2025, in Jakarta, Indonesia is ongoing. The WIC Chair and Co-Chair had a meeting with APSA Secretariat early this month for the agenda planning and follow-up action points. Stay tuned for more updates.
The Disease Resistance Terminology Working Group (DRT):
The DRT Bitter Gourd Powdery Mildew subgroup had a meeting in early April to discuss the challenge and possibility of continuing the project. The main reason to slowdown all the progress is on the approval of the Indian authority to export seeds out of country. Members agreed to find a different source of bitter gourd seeds while working on the extension of the agreement with the National Biodiversity Authority of India. On another note, the members of the DRT Watermelon Fusarium Wilt subgroup are on the stage of the ring test and later will compare the ring test result.
For the R&D Advisory Group,
We are delighted to warmly welcome Mr. Marcel Sturre from HM Clause as the new Chair of the APSA R&D Advisory Group. Mr. Sturre is a familiar face within our community, and we are excited to see him take on this new role. His extensive experience and insights will undoubtedly be a valuable asset to the group, and we look forward to his contributions.
The R&D AG Committee had 2nd quarter meeting this month to discuss and brainstorm on several topics, namely planning for the 2nd Session of the APSA BreedBetter Webinar Series: the committee is working diligently to organize the next session of this webinar series, which will be held in June and also the possibility to organize a physical Asian Solanaceous Cucurbits Roundtable in 2026.
APSA-WorldVeg Vegetable Breeding Consortium
Get ready to join the Annual Workshop, which will be held from May 6-8 at the WorldVeg Headquarters in Tainan. Registration closed on April 11th, and currently, 56 companies are registered for the consortium. Half of these companies are from India, followed by those from Chinese Taipei, Indonesia, and Pakistan. Around 80 participants from consortium companies will attend this workshop to gain exposure to the latest research and connect with international breeders and scientists. Our APSA team, including Ms. Kunaporn Phuntunil, is excited to join the workshop next month!
The 2025 APSA WorldVeg Vegetable Breeding Consortium is now open for registration. Join the APSA-WorldVeg Vegetable Breeding Consortium to gain exposure to the latest research and connect with international breeders and scientists. Click here for more information.
This is all for now for the short SC/SIG updates. Thank you very much and stay tuned for more updates next month.
The following country seed industry news pages have been updated with recent news briefs. To read full briefs, click the respective flag below, which links to the respective national seed industry news landing pages, where you can find all recent news briefs from that country:
Tariff Shifts Open Export Avenues for Australian Horticulture. New US tariffs have disrupted global agricultural trade flows ... Read
Bangladesh Caught Between Risks and Opportunity. As part of the latest US tariff actions, Bangladesh faces a new 37% duty on exports to the American market ... Read
Cambodia faces severe economic pressure as new US tariffs impose a 49% duty on Cambodian goods ... Read
China Pivot Offers Relief Amid Trade War Risks. As the US-China trade war intensifies, Asia-Pacific agricultural producers may face indirect fallout from broad US tariffs and global supply chain volatility ... Read
India Faces Trade Pressures as China Threatens Retaliation: April. India’s agricultural exports may face new headwinds as tensions rise between New Delhi and Beijing ... Read
In response to a potential 32% US tariff, Indonesia is negotiating a five-point deal aimed at preserving trade ties while broadening its global export footprint ... Read
Japan is preparing to boost imports of US corn and rice in an effort to ease trade tensions ... Read
India-Nepal Increase Agricultural Trade Cooperation Due to Tariffs ... Read
The Philippines is pushing to turn a new 17% US reciprocal tariff into an opportunity to negotiate a broader trade agreement ... Read
In response to a 36% US reciprocal tariff, the Thai government is preparing a 5 billion baht (approx. USD 135 million) soft loan program for affected exporters and importers ... Read
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As part of APSA’s sustained digitalization and digitization efforts, in 2023 we’re offering active members even more ways to directly reach Asia-Pacific seed industry decision-makers in their inbox, on their desktop PCs, laptops, smartphone, tablets, and phablets alike, through our exciting new affiliate, sponsorship, marketing, communication, advertising and publicity opportunities.
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Asian Seed magazine Vol. 31 No.1 (Quarter 1, 2025)
In this Q1 issue of Asian Seed & Planting Material, we open with the first quarterly address from APSA's incoming President, Mr. Teck Wah Koh, who shares key governance and strategy updates. This is complemented by a letter from the Executive Director’s desk, where Francine Sayoc provides timely updates from the Secretariat.
The issue is packed with regional news, including Seed & Grain New Zealand’s rebranding, a leadership change at the Philippine Seed Industry Association, and key takeaways from the Indian Seed Congress and the National Seed Forum in Hainan, China. We also summarize highlights from the 2024 Asian Seed Congress and insights from the recent Phytosanitary Expert Consultation in Bangkok, which underscored progress in cross-border seed movement collaboration.
Readers can also get to know APSA’s Board and new members of APSA technical committees, along with a special feature on women in the Asia-Pacific seed industry, celebrating their wisdom and achievements. Rounding out the issue, we present the latest USDA data on planting and harvesting prospects for key food crops—maize, wheat, and rice—alongside fresh insights into vegetable seed trade trends across Asia and Oceania.
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