China’s pesticide industry in 2025: A data profile—total product registrations exceed 53,000, with both export volume and value on the rise.

Recently, the Pesticide Inspection Institute of China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs released its 2025 annual work summary via its official platform, “Wei Yu Pesticides,” comprehensively highlighting the positive progress made in strengthening support for end-to-end pesticide management and achieving new results across various initiatives. Looking ahead to the inaugural year of the 15th Five-Year Plan in 2026, the institute has set advancing high-quality development of the pesticide industry as its top priority, driven by deepened reform and innovation, and anchored in enhancing quality and efficiency through focused efforts on core responsibilities. It is fully committed to supporting comprehensive pesticide‑chain management, thereby making a greater contribution to accelerating agricultural and rural modernization and building a strong agricultural nation.

Grounded in the overall picture, strengthen institutional support.

In pursuit of high-quality development in the pesticide industry, active efforts have been made to promulgate five supporting regulations—namely, the Measures for the Administration of Pesticide Registration, the Measures for the Administration of Pesticide Business Licenses, the Measures for the Administration of Pesticide Production Licenses, the Measures for the Administration of Pesticide Registration Trials, and the Regulations on the Management of Pesticide Labels and Instructions—thereby laying a solid institutional foundation for the scientific, law-based, and end-to-end management of pesticides.

Registration and review volumes and quality have both improved.

Throughout the year, a total of 10,665 registration applications were accepted, and 6,139 products underwent review, with 4,905 passing. To date, China has registered a cumulative total of 53,027 pesticide products (including those registered solely for export), and the number of registrations for specialized minor‑crop pesticides has reached 8,652, further optimizing the product portfolio.

The structure of registered products continues to be optimized.

Among the registered products (excluding those for export only), there are 18,451 insecticides, 14,389 herbicides, 13,139 fungicides, 3,207 public‑health insecticides, 2,174 plant growth regulators, 479 products for other uses, and 126 rodenticides, broadly covering the major needs of agricultural production.

The use of restricted and prohibited pesticides continues to be reduced.

In recent years, through the sustained phase-out of highly toxic pesticides and the implementation of international convention requirements, China has banned 61 pesticide products from agricultural production, including 47 highly toxic pesticides and 14 high‑risk pesticides. The number of pesticide varieties subject to restricted use in production has been reduced to 19. At present, 98.81% of active‑ingredient products are low‑toxicity, and 99.97% of formulated products are either low‑toxicity or moderately low‑toxicity; highly toxic pesticides have been completely phased out of large‑scale field agriculture.

Continuous standardization of trial unit management

Throughout the year, a total of 107 applications for registration as testing institutions were accepted, with technical reviews completed for 93 of them, covering 119 testing scopes. On-site inspections were conducted at 100 applicant institutions across 123 testing scopes. Sixty-six new testing institutions were accredited, bringing the national total to 210, while testing capacity continues to strengthen.

Optimizing services to benefit businesses and the public.

Throughout the year, a total of 2,664 inquiries were responded to, 3,908 specific questions were answered, and 67 issues‑and‑answers compilations were published on the official website, attracting over 550,000 views. Thirty-three enterprise‑接待 events were held, 14 proactive company visits were conducted, and more than 200 issues were coordinated and resolved. Additionally, 1,559 notices for supplementary document submissions were issued, and 458 registration reexaminations were processed, resulting in steady improvements in service efficiency.

The standards system is becoming increasingly comprehensive.

The Secretariat of the National Pesticide Standardization Technical Committee has been officially transferred to the Pesticide Inspection Institute of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. Throughout the year, the committee organized the development or revision of 104 national standards and 113 agricultural industry standards, with 43 national standards and 56 industry standards already published. The new edition of the “National Food Safety Standard: Maximum Residue Limits for Pesticides in Foods” (GB 2763) is slated for release, bringing the total number of standards to 10,749, including 393 newly established or revised residue limits.

Promoting the internationalization of China’s agrochemical industry

In 2025, China’s pesticide exports reached 2.303 million tons, with a total value of RMB 126.83 billion, up 12.2% and 11.9% year on year, respectively, achieving simultaneous growth in both export volume and value and further strengthening its competitiveness in the international market.

Deepen international exchanges and enhance our voice on the global stage.

For the first time, China successfully hosted the 56th session of the Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues (CCPR) abroad—in Chile—facilitating the adoption of 340 international maximum residue limits for pesticides. To date, the total number of Codex pesticide residue standards has reached 6,500, and China’s influence in the development of international pesticide standards has been significantly strengthened.

Source: Pesticide Inspection Institute of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs