October 2025 Newsletter
Dear Members and Partners,
As October ends, farmers across Asia are harvesting paddy amid the final surge of the southwest monsoon — a season that has brought both much-needed rains and reminders of nature’s force, with recent storms sweeping the South China Sea and Pacific coasts. Across the region, these challenges highlight why timely access to climate-resilient seed remains essential for securing food and livelihoods.
Meanwhile, spring is unfolding in the southern hemisphere, where growers in Australia and New Zealand are preparing new crops — a timely contrast that reflects our region’s interconnected agricultural rhythms.
All eyes now turn to Mumbai, where the 2025 Asian Seed Congress opens in just two and a half weeks (17–21 November). Members are reminded to watch for the Congress Travel Guide, coming soon, and to review official AGM documents in the Members Area ahead of elections to fill seven Executive Committee vacancies and vote on key constitutional amendments. Active participation strengthens APSA’s foundation of shared governance.
Inside this issue, you’ll also find highlights from our Events and Technical Affairs teams, plus the latest seed industry news from across the Asia-Pacific region.
Sincerely,
The APSA Secretariat
THANK YOU to our digital media sponsors
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2025 Asian Seed Congress
With the 2025 Asian Seed Congress only 2 weeks away, we are happy and excited to give some final updates to all our members, congress delegates, and APSA Newsletter readers.
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.
As of today, we have a total of 1,104 registered delegates, which includes 390 voting reps, 673 delegates, 11 accompanying persons, 11 Secretariat, 10 speakers and 9 invited guests.
A reminder that congress registration is now closed. But if you wish to attend, then registration must be done on-site at the congress. Please be advised that all onsite registration payment must be made via credit card ONLY.
On-Site Full Delegate Registration: USD 1100
On-Site Day Pass: USD275
On-Site Full Delegate Registration: USD 1650
On-Site Day Pass: USD 385
Also, happening throughout congress are various Congress Social Events, where you will have the opportunity to network, dine, dance and enjoy with fellow congress delegates. Click here for more details on the various congress social events.
This year, we are offering two Post Congress Tours: Mumbai Tourism Tour & Pune Seed Tour. Registration is now closed, but you will be able to register for the tour onsite. For more details, please click here.
For those who have yet to book your Hotel Accommodations, please be advised that all booking links for all congress hotels have already been closed. But if you wish to make a booking, you will need to contact the hotel directly and inform the hotel that you would like to make a booking with them using the special congress delegate rates. Contact details for each hotel can be found at the bottom of each hotel webpage.
For more information please don’t forget to visit our official congress website or visit apsaseed.org/asc2025
SEED YOU IN MUMBAI !!!
Standing Committees and Special Interest Groups
SCs & SIGs Committee Nominations – Registration Closed
We are excited to share that the nomination period for APSA’s Standing Committees (SCs) and Special Interest Groups (SIGs) officially closed on October 21, 2025. We received a strong response with many committed and outstanding nominations from across the region.
Thank you to all who participated and showed interest in shaping the future of the seed sector. Stay tuned for more updates as we move forward with the selection process and prepare for the new committee term starting in January 2026!
SC International Trade & Quarantines
The SC ITQ has started to prepare for the 2026 APSA Phytosanitary Expert Consultation, which will be held on February 10-11, 2026, in Indonesia. This flagship event will gather regional and global experts to discuss pressing issues in phytosanitary regulations and protocols, aiming to streamline seed movement across borders. The committee will have its fourth committee meeting of year 2025 in November to further discuss on the agenda.
SC IPR & Biodiversity
The SC IPR&Biodiversity had its fourth committee meeting of the year 2025 in October. The members discussed the APSA 2025 PVP&Biodiversity Consultation held on August 26-28, in Tokyo, Japan, and made suggestions for the coming consultation next year. The committee also discussed the next step of the PVP fact sheet, which will be shared to the members soon.
The Standing Committee on Plant Breeding Innovation
The SC PBI held the APSA 2025 Plant Breeding Innovation Webinar on Oct 15th with the title of “Recent Progress in the Global Regulation of Genome Editing in Plants”. The 2 presentations from the speakers outlining the developments in the US and APAC region followed by a Q&A session.
Let us move to an update from Standing Committee on Seed Technology:
The committee held a last quarterly meeting in early October to recap activities and start planning for activities next year. On another note, APSA successfully concluded the final session of its four-part Seed Technology webinar series on October 3, 2025. The session, titled “Pollen Science for the Next Generation: Technology, Storage & Applications”, featured two distinguished speakers: Dr. P.E. Rajasekharan from ICAR-IIHR, India, and Dr. Jörg Schrickel from Amphasys AG, Switzerland. We sincerely thank them for their valuable insights.
Stay turned for our e-learning platform, APSA SIPP x Seed Academy that they are going to launch new courses next month November as part of its regular four-month update cycle. Don’t miss the opportunity to enhance your knowledge. For those already enrolled, don’t forget to log in and continue your learning journey. Learn more and register here.
Special Interest Group on Field Crops (SIG Field Crops)
The SIG Field Crops Committee held its Q4 meeting to review progress and promote the upcoming Field Crops Study Tour in Hyderabad, scheduled for November 9–14 in collaboration with NSAI and FSII. Despite strong efforts, the tour did not reach the minimum number of participants and was regrettably cancelled. The decision was difficult, but the committee remains committed to providing valuable activities for APSA members. Looking ahead, the group will revisit options and explore new opportunities for 2026.
Special Interest Group on Vegetables and Ornamentals (SIG V&O)
Although there are no major announcements this month, the SIG V&O continues to stay active behind the scenes. The group is pleased to share progress and updates from its dedicated subgroups, reflecting ongoing efforts and collaboration.
The Working Group of Integrated Vegetable Seed Companies or WIC
The WIC has continued its momentum with active follow-up on key action points from recent discussions. Members are encouraged to save the date for the upcoming in-person WIC meeting, scheduled for 16 November 2025 during the Asian Seed Congress in Mumbai, India (closed meeting). More details and the agenda will be shared with WIC members soon.
The Disease Resistance Terminology Working Group (DRT):
The ring test result of the watermelon fusarium wilt will be soon reviewed by the DRT watermelon subgroup members. The meeting date will be set soon. Stay tuned for more updates next month.
For the R&D Advisory Group,
Aside from the productive quarter 4 meeting in early October, the APSA R&D Advisory Group proudly wrapped up the final session of the 2025 TGIF “Breed Better” webinar series on October 24. The session, titled “Unlocking Genetic Potential: Expanding Breeding Materials with Gene Editing,” brought together cutting-edge insights from two distinguished speakers.
Dr. Masaki Niwa (GRA&GREEN Inc., Japan) showcased the transformative potential of gene editing through the Smart Breeding Platform, enabling breeders to design traits rather than search for them—redefining the future of crop improvement.
Dr. Ania Lukasiewicz (Wageningen University & Research, Netherlands) offered a European perspective on New Breeding Technologies, highlighting innovations like high-throughput phenotyping and genomic selection, along with evolving regulatory frameworks.
A heartfelt thank you to both speakers for sharing their expertise and inspiring the APSA community and a sincere appreciation to Mr Marcel Sturre, Chair of APSA R&D AG who greatly moderated the session. Stay tuned for more updates from the R&D Advisory Group in 2026!
APSA-WorldVeg Vegetable Breeding Consortium
Special projects announcement
We are excited to inform you on the 3 special project announcements from APSA-WorldVeg Consortium with details as follows. Please note that ONLY the active members of the 2025/2026 APSA-WorldVeg Vegetable Breeding Consortium are eligible to participate in these projects.
Registration period: 1 August – 30 September 2025
Objectives:
Registration period: 1 August – 30 November 2025
Objectives:
Interested companies can get seeds of selected hybrids of their choice for testing at their locations, and obtain information and seeds of the parental lines of the selected hybrids. Seeds of F2 population from each selected hybrid is also available upon request. It is important to note that some of the hybrids share a parent, which means that the same line may have been used as a parent for more than one hybrid.
Registration period: 1 August – 30 November 2025
Objectives:
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:
Western Australia Set for One of Its Largest-Ever Grain Harvests: Western Australian farmers have begun harvesting a bumper 25.4-million-tonne grain crop—one of the state’s biggest on record . . . Read
Aman Paddy Cultivation Exceeds Targets: Aman rice cultivation in Natore has surpassed the Department of Agricultural Extension’s target, reaching 76,997 hectares, 112 hectares above target . . . Read
Forum Promotes Expansion of Regenerative Agriculture: Government officials, donors, and farmer groups convened in Phnom Penh on October 9 for the Scaling Regenerative Agriculture in Cambodia: Business and Partnership Forum to discuss ways to expand climate-smart and soil-restoring practices . . . Read
Yangling Agricultural High-Tech Fair Highlights Innovation: The 32nd China Yangling Agricultural High-Tech Fair opened on October 25th in Shaanxi Province, showcasing the latest innovations in agricultural science and technology . . . Read
Vegetable Prices Surge in Kolkata Amid Seasonal Supply Gap: Vegetable prices in Kolkata have surged sharply as supplies dip between the summer–monsoon and winter harvest seasons . . . Read
Rice Self-Sufficiency Achieved with 4–5 Million Ton Surplus: Coordinating Minister for Food Affairs Zulkifli Hasan announced that Indonesia has achieved rice self-sufficiency this year, with production projected to reach 33.19 million tons . . . Read
Government to Cut 2026 Rice Production Forecast to Stabilize Prices: Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture plans to forecast 7.11 million tons of staple rice production for 2026, about 5% lower than this year’s estimate . . . Read
Autumn Rains Delay Rice Harvest and Push Up Food Prices: Prolonged autumn rainfall across South Korea has delayed the harvest of new-crop rice, raising fears that prices will remain high instead of stabilizing in October as expected . . . Read
Penang to Pioneer Ratoon Rice Cultivation: Penang aims to become Malaysia’s first state to adopt ratoon rice technology, which enables multiple harvests from a single planting cycle . . . Read
Parbat District Generates Over USD 4.9 Million from Agricultural Exports: Parbat District has reported agricultural exports worth NPR 653 million (USD 4.9 million) in fiscal year 2024/25, marking progress toward self-reliance in food grains and vegetables . . . Read
ASF and SGNZ Host First Joint Trans-Tasman Seed Business Convention: October 27: The Australian Seed Federation (ASF) and Seed & Grain New Zealand (SGNZ) co-hosted Seed Business 2025 in Christchurch, marking the first-ever joint convention for the two countries’ seed industries . . . Read
Seed Producers Warn of Wheat Crisis Amid Punjab Supply Restrictions: The Seed Association of Pakistan (SAP) has warned that new provincial restrictions on wheat seed movement could trigger a nationwide agricultural crisis . . . Read
Government Expands Mobile Soil Testing Labs to Boost Farm Productivity: The Department of Agriculture (DA) has expanded its network of mobile soil testing laboratories to all 17 regional field offices, aiming to help farmers improve yields and reduce costs through better soil management . . . Read
Rising Costs and Climate Pressures Drive Farmers to Abandon Land in Nuwara Eliya: Small-scale farmers in Nuwara Eliya are abandoning vegetable cultivation as soaring production costs, erratic weather, and poor market returns make farming unsustainable . . . Read
Government Adopts Economic Measures to Curb Crop Burning: Thailand’s National Environmental Board has approved new economic incentives aimed at reducing agricultural burning, a key source of annual haze and PM2.5 pollution . . . Read
Million Recovery Plan Launched After Devastating Typhoon Season: Vietnam has endured one of its most destructive typhoon seasons in decades, with 11 storms and tropical depressions from May to October causing widespread flooding and landslides . . . Read
Seed Industry News by country in alphabetical order
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Australia |
Bangladesh |
Cambodia |
China |
India |
Indonesia |
Japan |
Korea, South |
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Laos |
Malaysia |
Myanmar |
Nepal |
New Zealand |
Pakistan |
Philippines |
Singapore |
|
Sri Lanka |
Thailand |
Turkiye |
Vietnam |
Central Asia |
Middle East |
International |
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.
We are pleased to announce our 2023 Digital Media Sponsorship Rates and Media Kit:
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Asian Seed magazine Vol. 31 No.3 (Quarter 3, 2025)
In this third quarter issue of Asian Seed & Planting Material (Volume 31, Number 3), readers will find a rich collection of timely and thought-provoking content.
Our cover feature pays tribute to the late Simon N. Groot, one of APSA’s founding collaborators, whose vision and life’s passion helped shape the modern seed industry in Asia. The feature anchors our ongoing #WeAreAPSA campaign — an initiative celebrating the 31-year journey of the Alliance through the voices and experiences of its members. Alongside reflections on Mr. Groot’s enduring legacy, several active members share why APSA’s mission continues to be vital to their work and to the region’s collective growth.
With momentum building toward the 2025 Asian Seed Congress in Mumbai, this edition also honors four pioneering Indian seedsmen whose lifework laid the foundation for both APSA and the broader Asia-Pacific seed sector.
Additional highlights include a comprehensive report on soybean seed production, utilization, and trade across the Asia-Pacific, along with summaries from APSA’s recent flagship consultations on Plant Breeding Innovation and Plant Variety Protection — framed by special addresses from the APSA President and Executive Director – and more.
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