China Fertilizer Regulations

Competent Authority of China Fertilizer Compliance

Qualification of Applicants

• Domestic Applicants: Chinese manufacturers, fertilizer manufacturers in the Chinese mainland area, with independent legal entity and business license, including sino-foreign joint ventures. Domestic applicants should firstly apply for production capacity assessment and material preliminary review to the provincial agricultural and rural departments, and then apply for product registration to the National Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MOA). 

• Overseas Applicants: Fertilizer manufacturers outside the Chinese mainland area, such as Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan, or fertilizer manufacturers from other foreign countries. Overseas applicants can also apply for fertilizer registration, but before application, the overseas applicant needs to designate a Chinese legal entity as the only representative responsible for the work of fertilizer registration, importing and etc.

Types of Fertilizer Registration in China

• Fertilizer Registration: For fertilizer products that need a field demonstration test and trial sale after field plot test, the producer shall apply for fertilizer registrations. The validity period of the fertilizer registration certificate is 5 years. To remain the validity of the registration certificate, a renewal application shall be handled 90 days before the expiration of the validity period. 

• Renewal Registration: If it is necessary to continue to produce and sell the product, the producer shall apply for renewal of registration within 90 days before the expiration of the registration certificate. The renewal registration is also valid for 5 years. 

• Modification Registration:  Within the validity period of the registration certificate, if the product’s use scope, name and enterprise name are changed without involving the product quality, the producer shall apply for the modification registration. 

• Fertilizer Filing Record: According to the Notice on Filing Management of Some Fertilizer Products (MOA Office [2020] No. 1

• Issued by the China MOA, the registrations of 7 types of fertilizers including: water-soluble macronutrient fertilizers, water-soluble fertilizers containing calcium and magnesium, water-soluble fertilizers containing micronutrients, magnesium potassium sulfate for agriculture, magnesium potassium chloride for agriculture, bulk blending fertilizer and compound fertilizer shall be cancelled and the compliance requirements of these 7 types of fertilizers should be changed into filing record management. The filing record is long-term valid. 

Classifications of Fertilizer Products Requiring Registration Compliance

Compliance Processes of Different Fertilizer Registrations

Fertilizer Registration Process

Renewal Registration Process

Modification Registration Process

Prohibitive Requirements of Fertilizer Products

For fertilizer products with the following circumstances, the registration application will not be accepted:

1. Foreign products with no certificate of use (registration) in origin countries.

2. Products that do not meet the national industrial policy.

3. Products with disputed intellectual property rights.

4. Products that do not meet national or industry standards requirements for safety, health, environmental protection, etc.

5. MOA has made the decision not to accept the approval or refuse the approval in less than a year due to the reasons that the applicant conceals the facts or provides false materials in fertilizer registration.

6. Before the product registration approval is completed, the same applicant submits the same product registration application.

Punishment Warnings

According to Administration of Fertilizer Registration issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China, the relevant responsible person will be punished if the following business behaviors happen. 1. In the following cases, the agricultural administrative department will give warnings and a fine that is no more than 3 times of illegal income, and the maximum fine will not exceed ¥30,000; if there is no illegal income, the fine shall be ¥10,000 or less.

(1) Producing and selling fertilizer products that do not have registration certificates.

(2) Counterfeiting fertilizer registration certificates or registration certificate numbers.

(3) The active ingredients or contents of the fertilizer products produced or sold are inconsistent with the contents registered on the registration certificate.

In the following cases, the agricultural administrative department will give warnings and a fine that is no more than 3 times of illegal income, and the maximum fine will not exceed ¥20,000; if there is no illegal income, the fine shall be ¥10,000 or less.

(1) Transferring the fertilizer registration certificates or registration certificate numbers.

(2) Fertilizer product continues to be produced without the approval of renewal registration after the expiration of the registration certificates.

(3) There is no label on the product package; the label is incomplete; or the label content is modified without authorization.