On 25 Dec 2017, China MOA and MEP jointly solicited public comments on a draft of “Administration Measures for the Recycling and Disposal of Pesticide Packaging Waste”. The draft defines the obligation and requirements on the collection, transportation, transfer, storage and disposal of pesticide packaging waste. The expense will be borne by pesticide producers and dealers.

No.1 Top-down Renewal of Pesticide Regulations in China On 8 Feb 2017, China’s State Council approved the revised draft of “Regulation on the Administration of Pesticides”, which was implemented as of 1 Apr. Thereafter, 5 administrative measures were released in the form of ministerial regulations concerning the registration experimentation, registration, production, marketing and labeling of pesticide. On September, 6 supporting documents were issued under series of MoA Announcements. These productive legislative actions constitute a comprehensive regime of product registration and 3-element licensing system of pesticide: State Council Decree Ministerial Regulation MoA Announcement Decree 677- Regulation on the Administration of Pesticide MoA Order 3 of 2017 "Administrative Measures for the Registration of Pesticide" MoA Order 4 of 2017 "Administrative Measures for the Production License of Pesticide" MoA Order 5 of 2017 "Administrative Measures for the Marketing License of Pesticide" MoA Order 6 of 2017 "Administrative Measures for the Registration Experimentation of Pesticide" MoA Order 7 of 2017 "Administrative Measures for Pesticide Labels and Manuals" MoA Announcement 2569 "Data Requirement on Pesticide Registration" MoA announcement 2567-"Catalogue of Restricted Pesticides (Version 2017)" MoA announcement 2568-" Rules for the Inspection on Pesticide Production License"; MoA announcement 2579-"Announcement concerning the Format and Generation of 2D Codes on Pesticide Labels";  MoA announcement 2570-"Rules for the Accreditation on Testing Facilities for Pesticide Registration & Good Laboratory Practice for the Experimentation of Pesticide Registration" (2 document)

On 17 Nov 2017, the Chinese State Council's Legislative Affairs Office released the draft of “Regulation for the Prevention and Management of Agricultural Pests” and will solicit public comments until 17 Dec 2017. The draft was compiled by the MoA and clarifies the responsibilities of government departments at all levels and entities engaged in agricultural production and pest control service, as well as standardizes the practices of pest monitoring, forecast, prevention and control.

Dozens of Shandong pesticide producers have already been ordered to halt operations starting from 15 Nov 2017 to 15 Mar 2018. Moreover, Jilin, Sichuan and Henan provinces have also joined the campaign meaning 34 cities in 8 provinces are now affected. In these regions there are hundreds of pesticide and intermediate producers in various scales so we can expect high prices to continue throughout next year.

On 10 Nov 2017, China ICAMA opened a 30-day consultation on the “Guideline on Pesticide Residue Trials on Crop”. As a vital component of pesticide management, residue trial provides scientific justification for MRL development and good agricultural practice for pesticide application, which is of great significance in ensuring food safety.

On 17 Oct 2017, China MoA disclosed the expert panelists nominated for the forthcoming 9th National Committee on Pesticide Registration for public consultation until 31 Oct 2017.

The SCOPSR (State Commission for Public Sector Reform) office has recently approved the establishment of a new authority called “Pesticide Management Agency”. The new authority will operate under MoA’s Department of Plantation Management and take comprehensive charge of industrial planning, administrative approval, supervision and sanctions in the pesticide sector.

On 30 Sep 2017, China MoA released 10 draft documents on pesticide residue monitoring and will solicit public opinion until 31 Oct 2017.

On 20 Sep 2017, China ICAMA released 9 draft testing guidelines on pesticide environmental impact study and will solicit public opinion until 23 Oct 2017.

On 18 Aug 2017, China MoA released the meeting minutes of the 21st session of the 8th National Expert Committee of Pesticide Registration. The session was held in Beijing on 31 Jul during which 27 new active ingredients were reviewed, of which 9 were herbicides, 8 insecticides, 5 fungicides, 4 plant growth regulators (PGRs) and 1 insect pheromone.