Browse Data and Analysis

The People’s Republic of China (PRC) is the second largest seed market in the world, behind the United States and annually plants 12 million metric tons (MMT) of seed, with a market value of U.S. $19 billion.

On May 3, 2023, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Agriculture, Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) published updated regulatory guidelines supporting the introduction of gene-edited seeds into the Canadian market.

On April 12, 2023, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA) jointly published a draft “Implementation Opinions of SAMR and MARA on Carrying Out Crop Seed Certification" for comment.

On March 9, 2023, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA) published a Decision on Amending and Repealing Some Regulations (Draft for Comments) for seed variety registration.

On February 3, 2022, Kenya notified a draft standard on labeling for genetically modified seed (KS 2983-2023) to the WTO TBT Committee as G/TBT/N/KEN/1379. The comment deadline is 60 days from the date of notification with June 2023 as the proposed date of adoption.

On June 9, 2020, the Seed Division of the Ministry of Agriculture released the Seed Rules 2020. The Rules cover the functions and responsibilities of the National Seed Board, seed laboratories, seed inspectors, seed analysts, and seed dealers, as well as the rules and procedures for seed sampling, certification, and registration or release of crop varieties.

On June 29, 2022, the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China (GACC) released Announcement No. 53 of 2022 titled “Implementation of Conditional Retrieval Facilitation Measures for Imported Seed.”

On January 21, 2022, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA) published 2022 Decree No. 2 which amends some articles of four seed related regulations with immediate effect. These regulations include rules for registration of GE seed as well as crop variety registration and seed protection.

The planting seed sector remains a priority for the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The PRC government released new measures and policies to support and improve the operating environment for the domestic seed industry throughout 2021.

On December 24, 2021, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China published an amended Seed Law of the People's Republic of China.

On November 12, 2021, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA) published its "Decision on Amending Some Seed Industry Regulations (Draft for Comments)" on its website.

A draft amendment to the Seed Law was released for public comment on August 20, 2021.