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.

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 11, 2020, China MoARA solicits opinion on the 31st and 32nd batched of testing institutes approved for pesticide registration tests.

As of December 31, 2020, 41885 pesticides of 714 active ingredients have been registered in China, consisting of 39299 agricultural pesticides and 2576 public health pesticides. Since 2013, the number of pesticides newly registered each year has grown by an average rate of 5%. As China introduced new data requirements in 2018, the number of pesticides newly approved plumbed a new depth of only 205 in 2019. Although 805 pesticides were approved in 2020, the number is still far below the level years ago. Apart from the elevated registration requirements, the increasing M&A events and elimination of SMEs lead by industrial consolidation and environmental rectification is another cause of the decreasing number, which will be a chronic condition and beneficial to China’s “quantity reduction and efficiency increasing” towards pesticide use. Green Development In recent 8 years, over 90% of the pesticides approved were slightly or low toxic and the figure has risen to 100% in recent 4 years. Emulsifiable Concentrates (EC) is the most registered formulation type and contributes the most VOCs, but its percentage has continued to drop. Wettable powder has had the same situation. Meanwhile, Suspension Concentrate(SC), Water Dispersible Granules and Oil Dispersion have maintained annual growth of 9.1%, 6.7% and 17% respectively. In addition to the rapid growth of Flowable Concentrate for Seed Coating (FS), Capsule Suspension (CS) and other environmentally friendly formulations, a novel formulation type, Dispensor(DR) has also been increasingly registered. Product Category Insecticides take up the highest proportion of all products and have been the most registered category before 2016, but that is set to change with the rapid growth of herbicides and fungicides. These three categories now have a relatively equal percentage in newly registered products. The number of public health pesticides has maintained at around 2500 owing to the stag