On 18 Dec 2019, the Chinese Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs issued the “Plan for the Trial Implementation of Quality Certificate of Agricultural Products Nationwide”, aimed to promote safety and correctly use of pesticides, veterinary drugs and other agricultural inputs. Indigenous growers and farmer above designated size need to issue the quality certificate prior to placing their agricultural products on the market.

On Dec 20, 2019, the Chinese Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs release the result of national supervisor and spot inspection on fertilizer during the second half of the year. The overall qualification rate was 86.9% but the qualification rate of organic fertilizer was less than 80%, mainly due to disqualified water content, organic matter content and excessive microbial contaminants.

On 17 Dec 2019, the State Administration of Market Regulation and the Standardization Administration Commission jointly issued the mandatory national standard, “GB 38400-2019 Limitation Requirements of Toxic and Harmful Substance in Fertilizers”, which will take effect on 1 Jul 2020.

Recently, the Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs, the National Health Commission and the State Administration for Market Regulation jointly issued the national MRL standard for veterinary drugs in food, GB 31650-2019. A total of 2197 MRLs for 267 veterinary drugs in animal products will take effect on 1 April 2020, essentially covering the veterinary drugs and animal products used in China.

On 2 Sep 2019, the MoARA’s Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Bureau issued an announcement to solicit opinions on “list of veterinary drug and chemicals prohibited from food-animals”.

On 2 Sep 2019, the Chinese Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs (MoARA) issued the Announcement 210 of 2019 to offer a 6-month extension for the transition between earlier and new labeling requirements for pet food. These measures were taken at the request of pet food producers, who were previously ordered to attach new labels on pet food produced after 1 Sep 2019. MoARA realized the large stocks of old labels and agreed that the old labels attached with additional labels can be allowed for pet food produced prior to 1 Mar 2020. Thereafter, MoARA will take necessary supervisory activities against pet food labels.

On 15 Aug 2019, the National Health Commission, the Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs(MoARA) and the State Administration of Market jointly issued the latest version of GB 2763-2019 and 2 methods for pesticide residue detection,  which will take effect on 15 Feb 2020.

On 17 Jun 2019, China's State Council unveiled the guidance on rural industrial revitalization. This document is an integration, extension, refinement and confirmation of the past agriculture development policies, including precise definition on industrial segments, clear positioning on tasks and responsibilities across multiple ministries/commissions, as well as the supply of financial, land and human resources, aimed at extending the value chain and improving the quality and efficiency of agriculture-related industries.