A farmer operates an agricultural machine to sow wheat in a field in Wenxian County of Jiaozuo City, central China's Henan Province, Nov. 11, 2025. (Photo by Huang Fuxing/Xinhua)

China has seen a notable improvement in its seed supply capacity thanks to efforts to invigorate its seed industry since 2021, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs on Thursday. 

The seed supply rate of national-level bases has reached 80 percent, which is up 10 percentage points from 2020, Vice Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Zhang Xingwang said at a national meeting in Hunan Province on invigorating the seed industry. 

Zhang highlighted that domestic self-bred crop varieties account for over 95 percent of the total capacity, with domestic livestock and poultry breeding sources holding a market share of over 80 percent, and domestic aquatic product breeding sources accounting for a share of 85 percent. 

Over the last five years, urgently needed new crop varieties such as scab-resistant wheat and dense-planting corn suitable for mechanical harvesting have been developed, and the total planting areas of self-bred corn and vegetables have risen to 94 percent and 91 percent. 

In international trade, China's seed exports surpassed imports for the first time in 2024, achieving a trade surplus, Zhang said. Hybrid rice, cotton and vegetable seeds are now exported to over 40 countries, with domestically bred livestock and aquatic products entering overseas markets, he noted.