Rapid, strong rebound amidst COVID-19 pandemic: China's best year of pesticide exports in past decade

Throughout 2020, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic raged around the world. Although China was the first country impacted by the pandemic, its pesticide industry lived through this severe test, quickly overcoming the effects caused by shutdowns and lockdowns and resuming production and exports, which supported the overall strategic layout of the national economy.

Overall, China’s pesticide industry in 2020 can be summarized as “opening low and moving higher.” With the support of government policies and the efforts of the industry, China’s pesticide output in 2020 was broadly flat or down from a year ago, but this followed the overall production trend in recent five years. Exports rose strongly after the first quarter and achieved a double-digit growth during the whole year, making it the best year in the past decade. 

The integration of companies and production capacities in the pesticide industry continued in 2020, and new projects were launched in full swing. According to incomplete public statistics and information gathered by AgroPages, the total investment in new pesticide production projects, which are mostly located in the central and western regions of the country, exceeded RMB32 billion(USD4.96 billion) in 2020. It is expected that a new landscape of the industry and products will form rapidly in the near future.

Series of new policies to secure quick resumption of production and exports

In terms of recent general development trend, China’s pesticide output continued to decline, mainly due to adjusted national policies covering pesticides manufactured exclusively for export in 2014, environmental inspections, chemical industry park shutdowns and other related policies. From 2015 to 2019, the output of chemical pesticide raw materials in China fell from 3.74 million tons to 2.25 million tons, a decrease of more than 30% (Figure 1). Around 1.2 million tons were phased out compared to the average annual output of 3.6 million tons from 2014 to 2016.

Figure 1. China’s pesticide production volume from 2015 to 2020 (1-11)

At the start of 2020, the pandemic situation was severe around the country, and China’s pesticide production declined significantly in January and February. In February, when lockdowns happened all over the country, the Chinese government promptly opened a green channel to ensure the production and transportation of agricultural inputs. A survey by AgroPages on major pesticide companies in China during that period revealed that some factories, especially those manufacturing bulk products, such as glyphosate and glufosinate, tried to maintain normal production while ensuring their workers’ health. A series of export policies were introduced subsequently by the central government, along with the severe locust plague in other countries and the upcoming spring planting season, stimulated the recovery and rebound of pesticide production in China.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the output of pesticide techincals in China declined by around 20% year-on-year from January to February 2020, as shown in Figure 2. Recovery started in March, though the total quantity witnessed a decline month-on-month. However, from April through November, with no data being available for December, the output maintained a growth trend year-by-year of 22.4% and 24.8% in October and November, respectively, showing strong momentum. Amidst a very unfavorable production environment, the annual output of chemical technicals in 2020, from January to November, totaled 1.931 million tons. Compared to the average level of previous years, there was a very small drop.

Figure 2. China’s pesticide production volume in 2020

As the main impetus for the sustainable development of China’s pesticide industry, the international trade of pesticides is highly valued by the government. According to China Customs, from 2015 to 2018, the quantity and value of pesticide exports kept growing at a relatively stable rate. In 2018, the growth in exports started to slow down. In 2019, due to the influence of chemical safety concerns and environmental inspections, the export of pesticides declined to a certain extent (Figure 3). However, China’s pesticide exports began to shift from mainly technicals to formulations since 2012, especially in the last five years.

Figure 3. China’s pesticide export data from 2015 to 2019

Data source: China Customs, different from ICAMA data due to different sources

In 2020, China’s international trade was challenged by problems related to production and global freight transportation caused by the pandemic, frequent fluctuations of exchange rates, political instabilities in various regions and other causes, but this also created many opportunities. 

For the purpose of effectively promoting the export of pesticides, the Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation proactively adjusted the export tax rebate policy for pesticides in March, by offering formulation manufacturers the same export tax rebate rate as technicals manufacturers, to promote the export of pesticide formulation products. In June, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs announced a regulation (Ref No. 269) pertaining to the registration of export-only pesticides, which solved outstanding issues since the reform of China’s pesticide laws and regulation system. In addition, paperless on-line applications will be used for pesticide import and export notices, and 95% of applications for releasing pesticide imports and exports will be automatically examined by computers, while the time required to obtain a release will be shortened from 7 to 10 days to several seconds. All these effective measures helped support pesticide export and optimized the business operation environment.

According to ICAMA, in 2020, China’s pesticide exports experienced a sharp drop in February, both in terms of quantity and value, due to the pandemic and the Spring Festival holidays, but rebounded strongly in the subsequent four months, with the highest growth of 47.43% in April year-on-year. From July through September, the growth rate decreased gradually but still maintained a rising trend and recovered, rising significantly in October and November (Figure 4).

According to the latest data released by ICAMA at the end of January 2021, pesticide exports in 2020 achieved double-digit growth, making it the best year in the past decade (Figure 5). In 2020, the export volume of pesticides (cargo volume) was 2.395 million tons, an increase of 29.3% year-on-year, with an addition of 543,000 tons; the export value of pesticides was US$11.68 billion, a year-on-year increase of 14.6%, recording an extra US$1.46 billion compared to 2019 when the export value first exceeded US$10 billion. Amidst the ongoing pandemic, China still maintained its position as a major supplier of pesticides in the world.

Figure 4. The export volume of China’s pesticide in 2020 

Figure 5. The export value of China’s pesticide in 2020 

Data source: ICAMA, different from customs data due to different sources.

Since 2019, shrinking global agrochemical market demand led to declining pesticide technical prices overall. In the first quarter of 2020, the normal production and operation of the pesticide industry was severely impacted by limited production and hindered supply chain caused by the pandemic. In the second quarter, when the pandemic was mitigated in China, pesticide exports rebounded against the trend and demand surged in the short-term, which directly raised the prices of technicals to their highest levels in the first half of the year. In May and June, the direct impact of the pandemic on the pesticide market further weakened. The price index dropped significantly and was 86.31 in June, the lowest value in the first half of the year, which was 4.03% lower than the highest value in April.

At the end of the year, due to stable demand and high raw material prices, the prices of some important export products rebounded. Remarkably, glyphosate and glufosinate reached new highs of the year, up by 32.86% and 54.55% year on year, respectively.

Regarding glyphosate, the floods in Sichuan in the third quarter of 2020 influenced glyphosate production in Fuhua and Hebang Bioscience, which reduced the annual overall supply of the product and its social inventory level. As for the upstream of the industrial chain, prices of raw materials, such as glycine, yellow phosphorus, liquid chlorine, methanol, paraformaldehyde and N-phosphonomethyl iminodiacetic acid, rose alternately during the year. As for glufosinate, according to an authoritative source of information, there is no new production capacity on the supply side of the current market. As for raw materials, the rising prices of raw materials, such as yellow phosphorus, will continue to push up the price of glufosinate.

Company performance and investment

Throughout the year, facing the combined challenges of global economic recession, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the escalation of Sino-US trade frictions, China’s pesticide industry entered a new round of rapid production capacity expansion, led by major companies. In the first half of 2020, the total revenue of the domestic pesticide sector reached RMB37.579 billion, up 19% year-on-year, and the net profit attributable to parent companies amounted to RMB3.854 billion, up 11% year-on-year. However, the integration and merger of the industry continued, and the market and profits were increasingly dominated by leading companies.

AgroPages carried out research that gathered incomplete statics on major acquisition events among Chinese agrochemical companies in 2020. At the start of 2020, Syngenta A.G., a subsidiary of ChemChina, were integrated with the agrochemical assets of the Sinochem Group and transferred to the Syngenta Group, a newly established company, which was also an important move for ChemChina and the Sinochem Group to further strengthen their cooperation. In June, the Syngenta Group was formally established, comprising the Swiss-based Syngenta Co., Ltd., the Israeli-based ADAMA, and the China-based Sinochem Group. By fully integrating the strengths of these companies and optimizing the allocation of resources, the Syngenta Group became a true flagship company of China’s agrochemical market.

It then launched the first round of its expansion strategy, starting with the acquisition of Valagro, a leading biological company, through its business unit, Syngenta Crop Protection. Based in Atessa, Italy, Valagro serves customers around the world and has a strong presence in Europe and North America, as well as a growing footprint in Asia, including in China and LATAM. This strategic acquisition enables Syngenta Crop Protection to build a world-leading biological business. Valagro’s well-established portfolio in biostimulants and specialty nutrients will complement both Syngenta Crop Protection’s current range of biostimulants and biocontrols and its future pipeline of biological solutions, adding momentum to the Syngenta Group’s future growth.

Leading companies, represented by Yangnong Chemical, proactively achieved their development by utilizing the scale advantage of the merger between ChemChina and the Sinochem Group. In November, Yangnong Chemical announced a joint plan with Sinochem International to acquire 39.88% stakes in the Jiangsu Yangnong Chemical Group from the Syngenta Group. The Yangnong Group, the controlling shareholder of Yangnong Chemical, also planned to sell 36.17% of its shares in Yangnong Chemical to the Syngenta Group. Through this transaction, the Yangnong Group was assigned to Sinochem International and the Sinochem Group, while Yangnong Chemical was affiliated to the Syngenta Group and then controlled by the ChemChina Group. After joining the Syngenta Group and ChemChina, Yangnong Chemical, which is already the largest biomimetic pesticide manufacturer in China, will usher in a new development stage. The company is committed to further exploring the potential of key product varieties and improving resource allocation for the integration of research, production and marketing.

China’s pesticide companies continued their aggressive investments at home and abroad while conducting mergers and acquisitions. By sorting out the major investment events of companies in 2020, we found out that, during the past year, many Chinese pesticide companies established subsidiaries intensively in China to undertake some of their new functions and businesses.

For example, Xinnong Chemical invested RMB100 million to establish the Xinnong Research Institute, which conducts research and application on synthesis R&D, formulation technologies, plant protection products and biopesticide technologies. Xinnong then set up a branch in Hangzhou to fully utilize local location advantages and resources, to introduce talents, strengthen collectivized management, and achieve management efficiency and scale economies effect. To consolidate its presence in overseas markets, Hailier launched subsidiaries in Laos and Cambodia, highlighted the global registration of products, and explored overseas sales channels and customer resources, to enhance its overall competitiveness and profitability.

Most leading companies completed their investment efforts with subsidiaries as their implementing entities, which supplemented the product portfolio of the parent company, to expand to the upstream and downstream industrial chain. For example, Jiangsu Tuoqiu Agriculture Chemical Co., Ltd. registered a new company in Lanzhou in Northwest China for manufacturing pesticide technicals, such as fipronil and prochloraz, enabling the company to develop new businesses. In terms of project investment, affected by the overall rectification and partial shutdown of chemical parks in the southeast coastal region and along the Yangtze River in recent years, and facing strong global demand, agrochemical companies swarmed to the northwest, northeast and central region to build projects, which reshaped the production capacity landscape of pesticide products in China. According to statics on more than 30 publicly listed pesticide companies, the number of projects under construction in the first quarter of 2020 reached the highest point in the last 10 years. Table 1 shows the major investment (proposed) projects and EIA qualified projects, as announced by domestic pesticide companies in 2020. According to available public information, the total investment amount of these projects exceeded RMB32 billion.

2020 Chinese Pesticide Project / EIA Acceptance (Incomplete data in chronological order of project implementation)

This article was initially published in AgroPages ‘2021 China Pesticide Suppliers Guide’ magazine. Download it to read more articles.