As a major agrochemical market and the largest agrochemical supplier in the world, China’s pesticide exports rose by 26.8% to some 7.86 billion USD in 2012. Imports amounted to some 560 million USD, reflecting an 8.2% year on year growth rate. Dumping and counterfeit issues have challenged the Chinese industry from both an international trade perspective and a regulatory perspective. On Day two of the AgroChemEx 2013 conference in Shanghai (China International Forum on Procurement and Service of Pesticides), Mr. Zhang Wenjun, Division Director of International Exchange and Service from ICAMA, outlined the current status of the Chinese pesticide industry from a regulatory standpoint and offered interesting statistics on the Import and Export of pesticide in China. Legislative Basis Currently, Chinese regulatory enforcement for import/export control of pesticide relies on Three Laws, Three Regulations, Two International Treaties and One Measure. Laws: Customs Law of the People’s Republic of China (last updated on July 8, 2002); Foreign Trade Law of the People’s Republic of China (first promulgated on May 12, 1994, last updated on April 6, 2004); Law of the People’s Republic of China on Import and Export Commodity Inspection (first promulgated on April 28 2002, revised in 2013) Regulations: Regulation of the People’s Republic of China on the Administration of the Import and Export of Goods (implemented on January 1, 2002) Regulations for the Implementation of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Import and Export Commodity Inspection; Regulation on Pesticide Administration (importation and/or exportation of pesticide within the territory of China should obtain the pesticide registration in China) International Treaties: Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticide in International Trade (approved

On Day two of the CRAC(REACH24H Chemical Regulatory Annual Conference) 2013 conference in Shanghai, Prof. Chen Tiechun, Division Director of Quality Control from ICAMA (Institute for the Control of Agrochemicals, Ministry of Agriculture), outlined the framework and achievements made in development of China’s pesticide regulations, as well as the challenges facing this sector in the future. Though regulatory developments are still in their infancy, Chen confirmed that the ICAMA is negotiating with U.S EPA on the development of a MAD (Mutual Acceptance of Data)-like system to govern international trade in the agrochemical sector between China and the United States. Cross Ministry Legislative framework in China In China the most important regulation is undoubtedly the “Regulation on Pesticide Administration”, which was promulgated on May 8 1997 and revised on November 29 2011. In fact, its regulatory predecessor can be traced back to the “Provision on Pesticide Registration”, which was jointly issued in 1982 by the Ministry of Agricultural, the Ministry of Health and the former Ministry of Chemical Industry. Important additional regulations include: “Administrative Permission Law” “Standardization Law” "Product Quality Law” “Trademark Law” “Code of Primary Products Quality Security” “Advertisement Law” “Consumer Protection Act” “Regulations on Administrative Protection of Agricultural Chemical Products” “Regulations on the Control over Safety of Hazardous Chemicals (Decree 591)” Several Ministry/Administrations are also involved in the control of production, marketing, distribution, use and market promoting of pesticide: Ministry/Administration Regulatory Duties Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) Pesticide r

On Oct 8 2013, the Institute for the Control of Agrochemicals under the Ministry of Agriculture (ICAMA) issued a circular “Technical Opinion on Registration Management for Glyphosate and its Salts”, which will be available for public consultation until Oct 20, 2013.

On August 15 2013, Taiwan Council of Agricultural (COA), Executive Yuan issued the Announcement 1021487388 and Announcement 1021487384 to ban the fosthiazate 75% EC and restrict 3 other formulated products.

On August 30, 2013, the fourth session of the 12th Standing Committee of the National People’ Congress approved two amendments to the Stockholm Convention. China will fulfill its obligations of eliminating or reducing the release of endosulfan and other nine chemicals, which were added into the annexes of the Convention in 2009 and 2011.

The northern agricultural province Hebei has abolished the registration obligation of all fertilizers from July 1 2013. All subject fertilizer products are freely circulated in the market as long as their producers obtain necessary license and the product meets the quality standard, which would reduce the burden on the shoulder of fertilizer producers and boost the agricultural supplies within the province.

On May 24, China MIIT issued a notice to revoke the manufacturing approvals of 15 arsenic fungicide products due to their inclusion into an “elimination list” (see Chemlinked News Release on Jun 7 2013). However, the revocation does not necessary imply a complete ban as the ICAMA registration of these products are still effective, which means the products are allowed to be sold on the market. ICAMA is considering final steps to eliminate these substances from China.

In June 2013, China glyphosate production stood at 50,800 tons, down by 4% from previous month due to MEP’s newly enacted measures and periodic overhaul among the manufacturing sites. The current price topped 40,000 Yuan ($6,524 at current exchange rates) per ton last week and most of the Chinese producers have suspended quotation offers.The price is expected to continue to rise due to a deliberate supply shortage. 

On Jul 23, 2013, ICAMA invited peer review on the risk assessment report of fly coil incense products. After a briefing on the findings of the assessment conducted by the working group, the experts agreed to adopt the risk assessment report when granting ICAMA registration.

On July 16, 2013, Taiwan Council Agricultural (COA), Executive Yuan has issued the Announcement 1021487246 to invite public comments regarding amendments to the rules for the spot checking on pesticide residues.