The domestic and international markets for thiamethoxam continue to grow robustly, with production capacity steadily expanding.

The “three musketeers” of neonicotinoid insecticides are imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, and clothianidin. Thiamethoxam is a second‑generation neonicotinoid characterized by a broad spectrum of activity, high efficacy, strong systemic translocation, low toxicity, and a long residual effect; its most notable feature is its excellent control of piercing‑sucking pests. However, thiamethoxam suffers from poor immediate knockdown and high toxicity to honeybees. Application methods include seed treatment, soil application, root drenching at planting, and foliar spraying.

Market Development

Thiamethoxam was discovered by Ciba‑Geigy in 1991, launched in 1997, and its patent expired on July 20, 2013. Over the eight-year period from 2003 to 2011, thiamethoxam posted a compound annual growth rate of 22.21%. Starting in 2005, it became the world’s second-largest insecticide, trailing only imidacloprid; by 2011, with a lead of US$50 million, thiamethoxam had overtaken imidacloprid to claim the top spot globally. In 2017, China’s global sales of thiamethoxam reached approximately US$1.1 billion, ranking second worldwide. Global demand for thiamethoxam stands at roughly 20,000–25,000 metric tons per year.

Due to the toxicity of neonicotinoid insecticides to honeybees and other pollinating insects, the United States and the European Union have successively introduced policies to restrict their use. In April 2018, several EU member states banned the outdoor application of certain neonicotinoids, including thiamethoxam, imidacloprid, and clothianidin, permitting their use only on greenhouse crops. In May 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency revoked the registration of 12 neonicotinoid‑based pesticide products that harm bees. In 2022, the EU proposed to withdraw the maximum residue limits for thiamethoxam in all agricultural commodities, a move that has drawn widespread attention from the industry and is expected to have a significant impact on China’s production and export of thiamethoxam‑based pesticides, as well as on global agricultural trade.

More than 60% of China’s thiamethoxam technical grade is exported, with no bans or restrictions yet in place in key export markets such as South America and Southeast Asia; Brazil remains the largest market. Moreover, driven both by the development and adoption of novel formulations and synergistic blends—such as microcapsule suspensions—and by its expanding presence in the public‑health sector, thiamethoxam sales have not declined but instead continued to grow. In summary, thiamethoxam’s global market growth remains robust, and its competitive pricing combined with outstanding performance in formulation mixtures and seed‑treatment applications is unlikely to be displaced in the near term.

Registration Status

As of September 22, 2023, there were a total of 694 registrations for thiamethoxam in China, including 61 active‑ingredient registrations and 633 formulated‑product registrations.

In 2023, a total of 15 new registrations were granted for thiamethoxam, with seed treatments and suspension concentrates accounting for the majority of formulations. All registered products are formulated combinations, featuring active ingredients such as chlorantraniliprole, bifenthrin, lambda‑cyhalothrin, flufenoxuron, fluazinam, and spirotetramat. Over the past three years, bifenthrin–thiamethoxam has accumulated 12 registrations, making it one of the mainstream combination products. This formulation leverages the broad‑spectrum, rapid knockdown action of pyrethroids and the long‑lasting efficacy of neonicotinoids, delivering excellent control of piercing‑sucking pests such as wheat aphids, citrus flower midges and fruit flies, and grape leafhoppers. The combination of thiamethoxam with lambda‑cyhalothrin ranks closely behind in terms of registration numbers. Meanwhile, chlorantraniliprole–thiamethoxam, once the key ingredient of Syngenta’s well‑known product “Fugo,” has also secured registration this year from two domestic companies.

Active ingredient price

According to the Zhongnong Lihua active‑ingredient index, the price of thiamethoxam technical grade has been declining since last year, reaching a historic low of RMB 62,000 per ton in June this year. Recently, driven by factors such as rising crude oil prices, thiamethoxam prices have rebounded, with the latest data showing a rise to RMB 70,000 per ton.

Thiamethoxam has two key intermediates: 3-methyl-4-(N-nitroimino)-1,3,5-oxadiazine (referred to as oxadiazine) and 2-chloro-5-chloromethylthiazole (referred to as CCMT). Recently, oxadiazine has been quoted at RMB 40,000 per ton, while CCMT is priced at RMB 35,000 per ton. Both intermediates have now bottomed out, suggesting that the current increase in active‑ingredient prices reflects a corrective rebound from those lows.

Active ingredient production capacity

According to reports, China’s thiamethoxam production capacity has reached nearly 30,000 tons, with the overall operating rate this year expected to approach 50%. India’s installed capacity stands at around 10,500 tons, with Deccan achieving an operating rate of 60% this year—primarily through custom manufacturing—while other Indian producers maintain lower utilization rates. As for thiamethoxam intermediates, production capacity is relatively concentrated: both CCMT and oxadiazine are supplied mainly by three to four leading Chinese companies, and India’s supply of these two key intermediates is also largely sourced from China.

Although most of the two key intermediates required for India’s thiamethoxam production are sourced from China, India’s technical‑grade thiamethoxam is no less competitive in the international market than that of China. The main reasons for this are as follows:

1. India’s procurement prices are lower than domestic market prices; for example, while the domestic selling price is RMB 30,000 per ton, India can secure goods at as low as RMB 27,000 per ton thanks to export tax rebate policies.

2. Redundant construction, relocation, and capacity expansion are widespread across the industry, continuously intensifying downward pressure on prices; even with meager profit margins, intermediate‑product manufacturers are compelled to keep production running.

According to preliminary statistics from AgroPages, since 2019, more than 300 pesticide products in China have been subject to investment and construction applications, leaving the industry facing a new wave of overcapacity. Coupled with the U.S. dollar’s interest-rate hike cycle and the Western‑led “restructuring” of global supply chains, Chinese pesticide companies are under mounting pressure to survive. Accordingly, industry players need to engage in rational planning and thorough market research to avoid excessive redundant capacity expansion and cutthroat competition. At the same time, there is an urgent call for policy adjustments to help pesticide firms navigate these challenging times.

Production Capacity Dynamics

Weifang Maoyuan Biotechnology Co., Ltd.

On August 3, the proposed construction of a new project by Weifang Maoyuan Biotechnology Co., Ltd. to produce 6,000 tons per year of thiamethoxam and 10,000 tons per year of thiazole was publicly announced on relevant websites as part of the environmental impact assessment process. Project scale and scope: The total land area allocated for this project is 2,000 m². ² , with a floor area of 8,000 m² ² A new production workshop will be constructed on the vacant land within the plant site, and equipment including reactors, dissolution vessels, desolventization vessels, distillation columns, centrifuges, evaporators, and intermediate storage tanks will be procured. Upon completion, the project will establish an annual production capacity of 6,000 tons of thiamethoxam and 10,000 tons of thiazole.

Hebei Derui

On June 30, the technical renovation project of Hebei Derui Chemical Co., Ltd. to produce 3,000 tons per year of thiamethoxam was publicly announced on relevant websites. The project is planned to be adjusted from the company’s current capacity of 1,000 tons per year of thiamethoxam and 300 tons per year of spirodiclofen to an annual output of 3,000 tons of thiamethoxam, with spirodiclofen production being discontinued.

Ningxia Belite

On April 10, 2023, the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Department of Industry and Information Technology conducted an energy‑conservation review of the project to build a facility at Ningxia Bailite Biotechnology Co., Ltd. for the annual production of 102,000 tons of downstream guanidine‑based products from cyanamide, and in principle approved the project’s passage of the energy‑conservation review.

Ningxia Dongwu

In June 2023, the environmental impact assessment documents for Ningxia Dongwu Agrochemical Co., Ltd.’s project to build a fine chemical production facility with an annual capacity of 25,000 tons were publicly posted on the relevant website. The plan calls for dismantling the existing cyanoethyl ester production unit in Workshop No. 19, followed by renovation and reconfiguration of the workshop. A new methyl nitroguanidine production unit and a shared oxadiazine/triazine production unit will be constructed in this workshop. Upon completion, the annual production capacity of methyl nitroguanidine will be expanded from 5,000 t/a to 15,000 t/a; the annual capacity of 3-methyl-4-nitroimino-tetrahydro-1,3,5-triazine will increase by 5,000 t/a; and the annual capacity of 1,5-dimethyl-2-nitroimino-hexahydro-1,3,5-triazine will also rise by 5,000 t/a, resulting in a total annual production capacity of 25,000 t/a.

Source: ACE International Agricultural Exhibition