Since the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA) issued Announcement No. 269 in 2020, China's pesticide export management has entered a new phase. This policy established a clear registration pathway for "export-only" pesticides, requiring applicant companies to either hold overseas registrations or act as suppliers for overseas products. This regulation has provided a standardized channel for Chinese pesticide companies to enter the international market. By analyzing data from 2021 to October 2024, we can clearly delineate the current overall landscape, market characteristics, and future challenges for China's "export-only" pesticides.

Export Product Overview: Dominated by Herbicides, with Concentrated Formulation Types and Toxicity Levels

Over the past four years, a total of 609 products, comprising 183 active ingredients, have obtained "export-only" registration. In terms of product structure, the market demonstrates a high degree of concentration. Herbicides and insecticides are the dominant forces, accounting for 334 and 148 registrations, respectively; together, they make up nearly 80% of the total. In contrast, other categories such as fungicides (96) and plant growth regulators (20) have significantly fewer registrations.

Regarding formulation types, although as many as 17 types were registered, four mainstream formulations—Emulsifiable Concentrates (EC), Soluble Concentrates (SL), Suspension Concentrates (SC), and Water Dispersible Granules (WDG)—are dominant, with over 400 products combined. Notably, 82 of the registered products are technical materials (TC), indicating that China's role is crucial not only as an exporter of finished formulations but also as an upstream supplier of raw materials. Furthermore, the market shows a preference for single-ingredient products, with single-active-ingredient products (476) far outnumbering mixture products (51). From a safety perspective, the vast majority of products (over 90%) are classified as low toxicity or slight toxicity, demonstrating that these export products align with the general international market requirements for environmental friendliness and safety.

Four Key Characteristics of the Market Landscape

A deeper analysis of the data reveals four distinct features of China's "export-only" pesticide market:

1. Highly Concentrated Export Destinations with Diverse Product Demands

Over half (52.7%) of the registered products are concentrated in four main markets: Cambodia, Australia, Brazil, and the United States. However, each country's product demand has a different focus:

• Cambodia: Demand is primarily for non-selective herbicides (such as glufosinate-ammonium) and insecticides. This may be related to its agricultural production models and its relatively lenient and fast-track pesticide registration policies. Despite not having the highest pesticide consumption globally, it has become the top destination country for China's "export-only" registrations.

• Australia: The market is almost entirely dominated by herbicides (76.2% of registrations), especially products related to the broad-spectrum non-selective herbicide glyphosate.

• Brazil & the United States: These two markets also have strong demand for herbicides, but the underlying driver is closely linked to the widespread cultivation of genetically modified (GM) crops. To address the issue of weed resistance caused by long-term use of herbicides like glyphosate, selective herbicides and non-selective herbicides with different modes of action (e.g., 2,4-D, flumioxazin) are more frequently registered in Brazil, while the US market focuses on high-efficiency selective herbicides.

2. Clear Market Divergence Between Technical Materials and Formulations
China's pesticide exports show a pattern of "different markets for raw materials and finished products."
• Technical Materials (TC): The main export destinations for TCs are technologically advanced and mature markets like Australia, the US, and Brazil. These countries have strong formulation processing capabilities and tend to import high-quality raw materials for local production. Nearly all TCs exported to the US and Europe are herbicide varieties.
• Formulations: Formulated products are mainly sold to Cambodia, Australia, Brazil, and New Zealand. A noteworthy phenomenon is that in high-profit markets such as North America and Europe, the number of registered Chinese formulations is low. This indirectly reflects that Chinese pesticide companies still have room for improvement in brand building, channel penetration, and overall global competitiveness.、

3. Export Products are Predominantly Mature, Off-Patent Varieties The vast majority of the 183 registered active ingredients are classic products that have long been widely used in the global market, such as glyphosate, 2,4-D, paraquat, chlorpyrifos, and mancozeb. New pesticide active ingredients indigenously developed in China are few and far between, with only a handful of examples like haloxyfop-P-methyl and picoxystrobin, and their export destination is exclusively Cambodia. This export model, which relies on "mature products," can secure market share in the short term. However, in the long run, the lack of core patents and innovative products will become a bottleneck, constraining the Chinese pesticide industry's advancement up the value chain.

Conclusion and Outlook

Overall, the "export-only" pesticide registration data reveals an export landscape that is clearly structured yet fraught with challenges. The market is highly concentrated in a few countries and product categories and exhibits a functional division of labor between technical materials and formulations in their target markets. However, severe product homogenization, over-reliance on mature varieties, and insufficient competitiveness in the high-end formulation market are tangible challenges that China's pesticide "going global" strategy must confront. In the future, if Chinese pesticide companies wish to secure a more advantageous position in the global market, they must make greater efforts in strengthening independent R&D, promoting the export of innovative products, and enhancing the international competitiveness of their formulated products.