By the end of November 2013, the number of pesticide registrations for seed treatment products has reached 375 and it will climb to over 900 in the next two or three years. During a conference in Nanjing, Dr. Li Xianbin from ICAMA revealed that the number of registrations and field trials had more than doubled from last year and more active ingredients and combination technology will be introduced into this booming sector.

China acknowledged the expertise of developed countries/regions such as USA, Canada, Australia, EU and Taiwan in terms of the management over adjuvants and will formulate the list and adopt the classification system on agrochemical adjuvants accordingly. 

On December 16, 2013, China ICAMA (the Institute for the Control of Agrochemicals, Ministry of Agricultural) announced on its website that publicity system on pesticide registration will be implemented from January 1 2014. Before granting pesticide registration, all candidates of temporary registration, full registration and registration of repacking should go through publicity process.

Zhejiang’s public security department made clear it unyielding stance on violations of environmental regulations with the announcement that it had concluded its milestone legal proceedings and investigations into two of Zhejiang’s largest glyphosate manufacturers. Some 62 people involved in the case have been transferred into police custody to face criminal prosecution.  high level executives including both Jinfanda’s president and vice general manager and Wynca’s HSE manager are all to face prosecution.

On Dec 9, China MoA issued the Announce 2032 to ban/restrict 7 pesticides:chlorsulfuron,metsufuron-methyl ,ethametsulfuron,asomat, urbacide,chlorpyrifos and triazophos.

The extent of the price hike in Glyphosate price may have been somewhat exaggerated as recently reflected by a decline in value from 43,000 to 40,000 in September. The relationship between the health and behavior of the Chinese glyphosate industry and global market value are intrinsically linked where any shift in this dynamic equilibrium has a global ripple effect. Chinese producers were expecting Monsanto’s promotion of glyphosate resistant GM crops, along with heavy purchases from Latin America, to fuel a price surge while face the September’s decrease, which would be a well sound alarm bells for investors. The underlying reason for this downward is likely attributed to uncertainty on the stability of future supply and raw material costs, with Chinese regulatory reform still up in the air.

On November 1, 2013, China Crop Protection Industry Association issued an announcement to solicit opinions on the cleaner production index targeting several pesticide sectors, the “Assessment Indicator System of Cleaner Production for Organophosphrous Pesticide Industry (Trial)”. The consultation is opened to affected pesticide manufacturing companies until November 10, 2013.

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

China’s Regulations on Pesticide Administration (Decree 326 of the State Council) was promulgated and enacted on 29 November 2001. It is the overarching legislation for the pesticide sector, aiming to control the production, registration, marketing and use of pesticides. On 20 July 2011, a draft proposal to amend the regulation was released for public consultation. Late last year, officials from the Institute for the Control of Agrochemicals (ICAMA), which is part of the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), made numerous announcements on the impending promulgation of the final version (see Chemlinked News Released on Nov 16 2012). However, after being all but approved by the standing committee of the State Council, barring a signature from the council chairman, the legislative process has come to an abrupt halt. According to MoA’s working programme, which was released in April 2013, the regulation may fall at the last legislative hurdle. This is perhaps unsurprising, given recent leadership changes and the need for consensus across a number of different authorities. Cross-ministry management It is necessary to register all pesticides with the MoA prior to placing them on the market. The agricultural department under the State Council is responsible for the registration, supervision and control of pesticides throughout the country. Registration of new pesticides, when they are first produced or imported, consists of field trials, then temporary registration and finally full registration. ICAMA is responsible for reviewing the dossiers, then collecting technical suggestions and a decision from the National Committee of Pesticide Registration. If the registration process is successful, the MoA will issue a registration certificate of Pesticide Registration, known as ICAMA Registration. In addition to pesticide registration, enterprises producing, formulating or repacking pesticides within the territory of China must obtain manufacturing approval from the Mi