Japanese Premium Orange Seed Sold in China, Allegedly Brought Out Without Permission

Beni Princess, a premium orange variety from Ehime Prefecture, Japan. The seedlings were found to be sold in China, triggering Japanese concerns about the leakage of varieties of domestically researched plants. (Photo: Kyodo News)

JAKARTA - Japan is once again on alert after premium citrus seedlings developed domestically appeared on the Chinese online market. The seedlings are Beni Princess, a new variety from Ehime Prefecture that is suspected of being secretly brought out of Japan.

Reported by Kyodo News, quoted Saturday, June 13, the Japanese government on Friday stated that the Ehime Kashi No. 48 hybrid orange specimen, the official name of Beni Princess, had likely left the country without permission.

Japanese Minister of Agriculture Norikazu Suzuki said the government had confirmed the appearance of Beni Princess seeds on the Chinese online trading platform. The seeds are sold under a Chinese name that means "Beni Princess".

Beni Princess is not an ordinary orange. This variety was registered as a new type in Japan in 2022 and began to be widely marketed in March 2025. Varieties mean types of plants resulting from breeding, usually born from long research and strict selection.

In Ehime, an area known as a citrus center, Beni Princess is promoted as a "pure race citrus". The term comes from the local business promotion agency. Beni Princess is said to inherit the texture of Beni Madonna and the sweet fruit juice of Kanpei. Both are also native varieties of Ehime.

Ehime has applied for Beni Princess registration as a new variety in China. However, the process is not yet complete. This situation raises concerns because the seeds have already been seen being sold online.

For Japan, this is not a small case. Previously, a number of varieties of grapes developed by Japan had also been brought out to China and South Korea. The Japanese government then tightened the ban on bringing seeds and seedlings of plants abroad.

Now Tokyo is considering stricter rules. One of them, the government can request a legal order to prevent new varieties from being taken out of Japan, even if the variety has not been officially registered.

The Japanese government also plans to establish a special institution to protect the rights to plant varieties, both at home and abroad, on behalf of their developers.