Asia's fruit wars: The secretive world of plant invention and seed smuggling | CNN

The Beni Princess, a premium citrus developed through crossbreeding over 20 years, has become the center of a dispute over seed copying across Asia. In Ehime prefecture, Japan, orchardists Ryohei Mori and his wife Kyeong-hui Choi uprooted about 200 trees on their five-acre farm to plant the variety, taking out a loan for greenhouses and saplings. They expect early sales next spring, but Japanese media reports suggest Chinese growers may be selling seedlings without permission—while the fruit’s intellectual-property application is still pending. Ehime’s governor and Agriculture Minister Norikazu Suzuki urged Tokyo to investigate, citing the threat to farmers and innovation.