“Decree 677-Regulation on the Administration of Pesticides” was a prelude to more far reaching regulatory/legislative/administrative reform in the Chinese pesticide sector. Comparing current regulations with pending regulations and the drafts of the 5 supporting rules, the impact on pesticide production is foreseeable. Clearer Division of Labor, Centralized Management and Fewer Certificates Under the new system enterprises wishing to engage in pesticide production should firstly notify the MIIT. Depending on the corresponding product quality standard, an enterprise should either apply to the AQSIQ for the production license or apply to the MIIT for the single product production approval. In the past multiple authorities were involved which lead to administrative overlap, redundancy and overall inefficiency. Pesticide Production Management under Chinese Current and New Regulations

China’s new pesticide regulation will take effect on on 1 June 2017 and 5 draft supporting rules have been released for departmental consultation, all of which support the pending new regulation. An analysis on the context, alternation and timeline of the new license requirements and regulations specified in the new pesticide regulation and supporting documents will provide important data to help minimize compliance failures. Pesticide Registration Existing Regulation(old) Data Requirement on Pesticide Registration (MoA order 10) New Regulation(draft) Administrative Measures for the Registration of Pesticide Alternation To be abolished with the effectiveness of new regulation Transitional Term Applications accepted prior to the new regulation will be reviewed under old regulation; Temporary registration issued prior to the new regulation will not be renewed; Note: Detail guidance on the administrative and technical requirements is still needed and MoA would release the supporting document separately Pesticide Production Existing Regulation(old) Rules for implementing the Production license on Pesticide (AQSIQ rules); Measures for the Administration on the Manufacturing of Pesticide-(order 23 of NDRC, being implemented by MIIT) New Regulation(draft) Administrative Measures for the Production of Pesticide; Transitional Term Enterprises that obtained the production license/manufacturing approval prior to the effectiveness of new regulation may continue to produce pesticide before the expiry; Enterprises that want to continue the production after the expiry of

On 1  April 2017, Chinese  Prime Minister Li Keqiang issued  State Council Decree 677 promulgating the revised pesticide regulation, “Regulation for the control of Agrochemicals（aka: Regulation on Pesticide Administration）”, which will take effect on 1 June 2017. The move is part of an overall regulatory/legislative/administrative reform in China in which authority is being centralized replacing China’s historical predilection of dividing labor between several different regulatory authorities.  

Biopesticides are certain types of pesticides derived from such natural materials such as animals, plants, bacteria, and certain minerals. For example, canola oil and baking soda have pesticidal applications and are considered biopesticides. From the legislative/regulatory perspective, in China Biopesticide is considered as a type of pesticide category which belongs to biological pest control (kill or inhibit harmful organisms by biological measures). Different countries or regions have different definition and scope of biopesticides. Please refer to the table below for the scope of biopesticide in different countries or regions.

By the end of 2016, Chinese pesticide exportation totaled 1,373,452.93 million tons, amounting to some 5.6 billion USD, representing consecutive year-over-year declines of 9.08% and 22.88% respectively. During the first half of the year, the volume and value fell a further 21.8% and 33% compared with the same period a year earlier. Overall the market decline in H1 was slightly offset by a rebound in H2. large Fig 1.China Pesticide Exportaion-volume and value of techinical and formulations from 2011-2016 The value of exports has been enhanced by exportation of more formulated products than technical materials and the percentage of formulations has grown from 53.58% in 2011 to 64.07% in 2016. Another aspect to note is that purchases were clustered around a few key trade partners. The value percentage of formulated product imported by the top 10 export destinations saw a 7% increase over the last 3 years, indicating that Chinese producers are oriented toward several lucrative markets. large Fig 2.China Pesticide Exportation-value percentage of techinal and formulations sourced by top 10 destinations formulations(2014-2016) Of all the 160 destination countries/regions worldwide, the top 30 destinations sourced over 80% of the pesticide. Asia sourced 45.293 tons or 1.74 billion USD of pesticides from China, followed by Latin America, Africa, North America, Europe and Australasia. The percentage of each continent varied little in both volume and value terms compared with the same period last year. large Fig.3 China Pesticide Exportation-Volume and Value Percentages of Pesticide Imported by Regions 2015vs2016 The top 14 Asian destination countries sourced 28.1% of the pesticides: India, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Pakistan, Japan, Malaysia, Israel, Turkey, Singapore, Iran, Korea, Philippine and Bangladesh; The major destinations in Latin America were: Brazil, Argenti

Risk assessment of pesticides has been given higher priority in recent years. Reform of Chinese pesticide regulations has seen increasing restrictions/prohibition place on many pesticides. In terms of the money an enterprise must spend during registration, registering a pesticide for use on vegetables offers no clear economic or market incentives to registrants when compared to registering a pesticide for use on grains. In addition there are no specific favorable policies afforded to pesticides registered for use on vegetables when compared to registering a pesticide for use on minor crops. An analysis of the registration status of pesticides designated for use on vegetables pesticides can help to predict which pesticides will be subject to revaluation and also help reflect the degree of competition in this niche market. Product analysis By then end of 2013, 7,473 formulations of 635 active ingredients/combinations had been registered on vegetable crops, of which 262 are single compound pesticides and 373 are multiple compound pesticides. Usage of these pesticides covers 94 crops and 123 pests/diseases. Insecticides accounted for 59% (4361) of registrations, followed by fungicides (2459), herbicides (469) and PGRs(148).