On 23 Sep 2016, China ICAMA released 6 draft guidelines for pesticide environmental risk assessment and will solicit public opinion until 23 Oct. All guidelines are compiled as agricultural standards including: 3 test guidelines to assess pesticide environmental behavior and impact 2 guidelines on the validation, calculation and determination of degradation kinetics in environmental medium 1 consolidated guidance on the pesticide risk to soil organisms.

On 7 Sep 2016, China MoA issued Announcement 2445 to terminate the domestic use of 2,4-D butylate, paraquat dicofol as well as restriction of flubendiamide and 4 other active ingredients.

On 29 Aug 2016, Brazil ANVISA published Resolution 2297 on the Official Gazette to cancel the approval of methyl parathion pesticides from the 1st of Sep 2016.

On 1 and 5 September 2016, China ICAMA issued the 8th and 9th Batches of pesticide registration to be approved in 2016 for public consultation until 7 and 11 September.

On 25 Aug 2016, China MoA released the meeting-minutes of the 19th session of the 8 National Expert Committee of Pesticide Registration, which was held on 26 Jul in Beijing. A total of 43 pesticides using 21 new active ingredients were reviewed for full registration.  20 pesticides using 11 new active ingredients were approved, of which 3 were submitted by MNCs: halauxifen-methyl herbicide by Dow Agroscience, fluoxastrobin fungicide and amicarbazone herbicide by Arysta.

A double digit decrease in exportation figures and a muted performance from China’s domestic market have reduced the profits of Chinese agrochemical producers; The full chain agronomic services offered by multinationals and domestic distributors have forced the traditional middleman out of the supply chain equation; Rising costs of compliance with China’s EHS regulations has transmitted to the agrochemical industry; Domestic products saw reduced or flat prices while imported products achieved 10 to 20 percentage growth; In 2015, China produced 1.33 million tons of pesticide active ingredients, down from 1.49 tons in 2014. Exportation fell by more than 10% in both volume and value terms. Influenced by complex factors including weather, regulatory policies and changing distribution channels, the domestic usage was slightly lower than expectation at 0.3 million tons, causing Chinese producers to feel the pinch of higher fuel and labor costs. Production and International Trade The largest percentage reduction occurred in herbicide and insecticide categories, decreasing the total production by about 11.7% compared to 2014, representing a 4-year low. Table1- Chinese Pesticide Production in 2015 (a.i., 000 tons)

On 17 Aug 2016, the SDA/MAPA (Secretary of Defense Agricultural, MAPA) published a departmental ordinance on administrative procedure for the agronomic revaluation of 117 pesticides registered for soybean rust (Phakopsora pachyrhizi), most of which are bestselling triazoles and strobilurins. Affected companies will have 60 days to submit the scientific evidence to confirm the efficacy of their products against biological targets, otherwise pesticide approvals will be suspended within 30 days.

On 18 Jul 2016, the IBAMA released a normative instruction (IN No.3 on 15/07/2016) concerning the emergency registration of two active ingredients to combat invasive species in reserved land. Glyphosate and triclopyr herbicides which meet specific criteria for a designated use site, dosage and application method could be granted with a 2 year extendable emergency registration.