On June 8, China MoARA issued an official letter regarding the regulatory applicability of veterinary insecticides, aimed to clarify the applicable laws for animal-use insecticide fast emerging on the market.

From May 1, 2021, China began to carry out a new national standard of fertilizer markings “GB 178382-2021 Fertilizer Marking—Presentation and declaration”. The mandatory standard applies to both homemade and imported fertilizers circulated in China, playing an effective role in protecting farmer’s interests and promoting legitimate businesses.

Minor use pesticides are crop protection products targeting value specialty crops with small acreage, as well as controlling minor pests on major crops. Due to the low financial incentive for agrochemical companies to register their products alone, the lack of available pesticides led to illegal uses and crop loss in China until the regulatory reform. In 2017, China MoARA issued the ministry regulation, “Administrative Measures for the Registration of Pesticides”, constituting a characteristic mechanism consists of cost-sharing among multiple applicants, and an extrapolation scheme to use residue and efficacy data from crop groups, as well as the fast-track process introduced last year. In this article, we will introduce the scope, extrapolation, field trial and application procedures for minor-use pesticide registration. Dynamic Scope and Crop Grouping MoARA adopts constant readjustment to the pesticide, crop, and pests for minor uses and 3 lists were issued to help applicants to determine the scope: List of Minor Crops with Low Availability of Crop Protection Solution; List of Crop Groups for Extrapolated Use of Residue Data; List of Crop Groups for Extrapolated Use of Efficacy Data; The “List of Crop Grouping for Extrapolated Use of Residue Data” consists of crop group/sub-group, specific crops, and representative crops of the group. If the applicant completed the residue test of the representative crop and 1 or 2 specific crops with the same GAP (Good Agriculture Practice) condition, the data can be extrapolated to support the whole group. The number and test sites and selection of their locations shall conform to Annex 6 and Annex 9 of the “MoARA Announcement 2569- Data Requirements on Pesticide Registration” and the extrapolated use of residue data is inapplicable to post-harvest solutions. The “List of Crop Grouping for Extrapolated Use of Efficacy Data” specifies the representative crop/

On April 27, 2021, China MoARA issued Announcement 422 to designate 2 efficacy labs, 1 residue lab and 1 chemical lab for pesticide registration.

On November 11, 2020, China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) and the State Standardization Administration jointly issued the mandatory national standard” GB38598-2020 General Requirement for Label and Instruction Book of Disinfection Products”, expected to take effect on December 1, 2021. This standard will apply not only to disinfectants, disinfecting apparatus, disinfection indicators and antibacterial/bacteriostatic agents that fall under the pre-marketing safety and efficacy evaluation and record-filing process, but also other daily necessities such as contact lenses solutions, wet wipes, hygienic wet wipes, sanitary napkins(pad), diapers, cotton swab/ball, tissues, household paper (excluding toilet paper) and papery tableware. The drafter and responsible authority, the National Health Commission (NHC) revealed that the standard is the first hygiene standard to passed the deliberation stage by over 140 WTO members. GB38598-2020 is expected to play an important role in reducing trade barriers and ensuring correct and safe uses of disinfection products by both healthcare professionals and general consumers. Significance and Coverage All disinfection-related regulations were developed under the national law “Prevention and Treatment of Infectious Diseases” and the ministerial regulation “Administration Measures for Disinfection”. In late 2005, MoH (former NHC) issued a lower level ministerial regulation, “Management Specification for Label and Instruction Book of Disinfection Products” (the “ministerial labeling regulation”), but it gradually become disconnected from the industrial and market changing conditions, especially the decentralized reform of 2013. Now, the arrival of GB38598-2020 has elevated the legal priority of labeling regulations and costs of mishandling: the breach of a national mandatory standard can now be fined up to 50,000 RMB. Not all products with

On April 14th and 15th 2021, the Chinese Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs concluded the 5th session of the 9th Review Committee of Fertilizer Registration. The participants voted to approve 113 fertilizers and agreed to standardize the market entry procedures of secondary-element WSFs (Water-soluble fertilizers containing calcium and magnesium) and strengthen the review process of imported organic WSFs(also known as biostimulants) derived from marine food wastes.

On April 16, 2021, China MoARA released the ministerial inspection results of pesticide quality in 2003. The overall qualification rate was 96.2%, an increase of 7.6% from the previous year of 88.6%. 40% of the substandard pesticides were fake products containing no registered active ingredient or containing unregistered active ingredients.

In 2020, China MoARA approved 795 pesticides, a significant recovery from 2019 of just 264. 15 pesticides were registered as TC/TK, including 14-hydroxylated brassinosteroid， Indolebutyric acid (IBA)， Benzylaminopurine，24-Epibrassinolide， Gibberellic acid， Naphthylacetic acid，L-glufosinate, Broflanilide, Teraniliprole, Allantoin, Quinotrione, Bromadiolon, Flocoumafen, Clethodim and Bacillus subtilis. 780 formulated pesticides were approved, consisting of 320 single-element formulations and 460 multi-element formulations. Of the 795 pesticides approved, 672 of them were categorized as low toxic, followed by 84 slightly toxic pesticides and 39 moderately toxic pesticides. Category and Formulation 300 pesticides were registered as herbicide (2 of them can function as both herbicide and plant growth regulator), followed by fungicide(203), insecticide(179), plant growth regulator(59), fungicidal and insecticidal seed treatment(19), acaricide(19, 6 of them can function as both insecticide and acaricide), nematicide(7), molluscicide(4), rodenticide(3), resistant inducer(3), and insect pheromone（1）. With significant environmental advantages， 300 of the pesticides were formulated as suspension concentrate. Driven by a large number of Glyphosate and Glufosinate producers, 153 pesticides were registered as solid liquid, the most compatible formulation of these non-selective and widely used herbicides. The number of formulation types rose to 29 in 2020, remarking the sustainable innovation in targeted pests and application technology. New Combination As it is becoming increasingly difficult to develop new compounds, agrochemical enterprises are paying more attention to combine different active ingredients to expand pest spectra and mitigate pest resistance: 22.17% of the fungicides approved in 2020 were new fungicide mixtures; 12% of the herbicides approved were new herbicide mixtures; 9.5% of the insecticides approved were new insecticide mixtures From 

On March 5, 2021, Chine promulgated the national food safety standard, “GB 2763-2021 Maximum Residue Limits for Pesticides in Food”, which is due to take effect on September 3. According to MoARA, GB 2763-2021 consists of 10,092 MLRs for 564 pesticides in 376 food categories, which completed the goal of establishing 10,000 statutory pesticide MRLs by the end of 2020.