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.

e we provide an explanation delivered by Mr. Zong Fulin, Division Director of the newly formed office in which he explains the rationale for the establiIn March 2013, ICAMA (Institute for the Control of Agrochemicals, Ministry of Agricultural) established a new division called the Pesticide Registration Review Office. The newly formed office has been tasked with reassessing registered pesticide products currently circulating in the marketplace. In this articlshment of this office and the necessity for reassessment of registered pesticides. China implemented pesticide registration in 1982, however since implementation post market supervision of registered products has been grossly inadequate and poorly equipped to guarantee the safe use of pesticides and minimize the negative environmental and social impact associated with their use. Indeed in the past the only major regulatory hurdle for pesticide products has been the renewal of pesticide registration. In reality this checkpoint has been little more than a formality with successful renewal usually a foregone conclusion. Indeed the only real impetus for revoking registration has been when serious adverse effects or events force the governments to institute a regulatory ban, comparable to closing the stable door after the horse has bolted. Regulation and enforcement within this industry has ranged from inefficient to corrupt to extremely criminal. The industry has been plagued by practices such as the sale of “registration status" and the indefinite extension of registration both of which have continued to hamper implementation of effective and safe regulations. From a purely economic standpoint, not mentioning the social and ethical issues, the consequences of this archaic system has negatively affected the development of the Chinese pesticide industry since its inception. The system has severely hampered domestic R&D and resulted in an industry flooded by inferior quality “me-too” (gene

According to an official from MoA, all agricultural uses of methyl bromide will be banned from January 1 2015. During a soil disinfection conference in Guangzhou, Mr. Wang Yanliang, vice Director of the Education and Science Division at MoA introduced China’s initiatives to phase out use of methyl bromide.

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.

On November 22 2013, a workshop was held by China ICAMA in Beijing to discuss the environmental impact of flubendiamide, which would be harmful to aquatic organisms during paddy application. The experts concluded that assessment of risk to daphnia magna as the sole risk assessment criteria is inadequate and further study is required to ensure its safety to aquatic ecosystems and ensure it maintains its registration maintenance. Flubendiamide is a novel insecticide developed by Bayer and Nihon Nohyaku. It has been found to provide excellent control over lepidopterous pests on large number of annual and perennial crops. Currently, China granted 10 pesticide registrations to flubendiamide products, which can be seen as below:

With the worsening of China’s PM 2.5 problems, there is an urgent need of effective governance against pollutant emission which must be achieved by improving the compulsory standard targeting specific industries. In China, 50% of the PM 2.5 particulates are directly released as emissions, while the other half is generated indirectly from the waste byproducts of various industries. These indirect precursor substances, known as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), are usually transformed through sunlight and heat into, nitrates, sulfates and aerosols and are a hugely overlooked and under regulated factor in PM 2.5 formation. As the majority of VOCs are attributable to pesticide production, a national standard, the “Air Emission Standard for Pesticide Industry” is being developed, which could support the newly promulgated “National Standard of Ambient Air Quality”.

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