On March 24, 2021, French pesticide authority ANSES published the follow-up measures for the list of co-formulants banned in plant protection products (PPP), an amendment to Annex III of Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 which was published on March 3. Affecting applicants and authorization holders are required to apply for a non-significant change of composition to maintain the authorization process or existing authorization.

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.

On March 30, 2021, the Korean Environmental Industry & Technology Institute (KEITI) issued a guidance regarding the selection criteria and data requirements for representative biocidal products (RBP) of biocidal substances to be approved through the simplified process.

The introduction of GLP (Good Laboratory Practice) to China’s pesticide registration dates back to the 1980s and toxicological laboratories began to follow the principles. Between 1982 and 1986, a safety evaluation center funded by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) was established and a series of GLP documents in the form of agricultural standards, targeting specific areas such as residue test, physical and chemical analysis, and environmental safety evaluation. In late 2003, MoA(now known as MoARA) issued the ministerial regulation, “MoA Announcement 739-Measures for the GLP Compliant Accreditation of Pesticide Laboratories’”, marked MoA a GLP monitoring authority in pesticide area and 29 pesticide laboratories were accredited between 2010 and 206. But at the same time, MoA also accepted test data from GLP/GEP institutes accredited by CNAS, CMA CAL and other authorities can also be allowed for pesticide registration until the pesticide regulatory reform since 2017. China has been an active participant in global exchange and cooperation. Since 2005, many government officers have participated in the OECD GLP working group meetings and inspector training course. China and the US signed a cooperative agreement on the “sustainable GLP compliance monitoring program” in 2005, which has been renewed biannually until 2017. China also participated in various accreditation events initiated by monitoring authorities from OECD members such as Belgium, Germany, Netherlands, and Poland, etc. By 2020, 16 out 27 Chinese testing facilities accredited by OECD members are pesticide laboratories. With the promulgation of new pesticide regulation in 2017, GLP accreditation became a requisite for the registration process: only data from MoA-recognized testing facilities or overseas labs from a country or organization which have signed MAD (Mutual/ multilateral Acceptance of Data) agreement wit

On March 20, 2021, the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs issued a notice to provincial agricultural bureaus concerning the name modification and registration amendment of Veratrum rhizome extract and Grapholitha molesta pheromone, which have already registered in China.

On March 21, 2021, International Organization for Standardization provisionally approved the common names of 14 novel pesticide active ingredients, of which 6 were developed by Chinese enterprises.