On August 15, a chartered flight carrying "Guangming No. 2" white-feather broiler breeder stock landed smoothly in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. This marks a milestone in the Middle Eastern market for China’s independently developed high-quality white-feather broiler breed, injecting new momentum into Sino-Saudi agricultural cooperation.
Jointly developed by the chicken genetics and breeding innovation team of the Institute of Animal Sciences at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and domestic agribusinesses, "Guangming No. 2" is one of China’s first nationally approved white-feather broiler breeds. Its production performance on par with international mainstream varieties. This breed integrates core technologies such as genomic selection via the "Jingxin No. 1" breeding chip and intelligent phenotyping, doubling the genetic progress and reducing the incidence of wooden breast by 35.2% compared to international breeds.
Dr. Zhao Guiping, the chief scientist of the research team, stated that the international promotion of "Guangming No. 2" offers a "Chinese approach" for the global agricultural industry chain. Chinese breeding stock is expected to play an increasingly significant role in Middle Eastern and even global markets, contributing to the construction of a diversified and sustainable global food security architecture.
The maiden shipment of "Guangming No. 2" to Saudi Arabia represents a significant milestone in the "going global" strategy for Chinese indigenous breeding stock. As Sino-Saudi agricultural agreements continue to deepen, both nations will engage in extensive collaboration in areas such as breeding technology exchanges and demonstration farm construction. Previously, this breed has been successfully exported to Belt and Road countries including Pakistan and Tajikistan, with growing international market recognition.
