What is the actual amount of pesticide use in China?

1 Modern agricultural production is inseparable from pesticides.

China is a major agricultural country with a diverse array of crop varieties. Each year, more than 100 types of diseases, pests, and weeds pose significant threats. Given the current state of scientific and technological advancement, pesticides remain the most effective tool for managing these challenges, particularly in controlling sudden outbreaks of pests and diseases—where they play an irreplaceable role compared to other methods.

In ancient times, slash-and-burn agriculture was the norm, resulting in low agricultural productivity and meager crop yields. With the advent of agricultural modernization—particularly the widespread use of pesticides, fertilizers, and high‑yielding crop varieties—both efficiency and output have increased dramatically. Thanks to pesticides’ effective control of diseases, pests, and weeds, farmers have been freed from grueling labor, and the scene of “hoeing crops at noon” has become a thing of the past. As a result, farmers now have more time to pursue other pursuits or savor the pleasures of life.

Compared with other plant protection measures such as cultural, biological, and physical control, chemical pesticides offer significant advantages: broad applicability, ease of use, large-scale deployment, rapid action, and pronounced efficacy. Particularly when a harmful organism is on the verge of an outbreak, chemical control often remains the only viable and effective option. Statistics show that improper pesticide application or cessation of treatment can reduce crop yields by 35% to 40%, with losses in fruits and vegetables reaching as high as 40% to 60%, and in some cases even resulting in total crop failure the following year. Throughout history, numerous instances have occurred where pest and disease outbreaks led to complete crop failures, triggering famine and social unrest. For example, in 1992, a severe nationwide infestation of the cotton bollworm caused cotton yields in the hardest-hit areas to decline by more than 50%, with national production falling by over 30%. Similarly, wheat stripe rust swept across the country three times—in 1950, 1964, and 1990—resulting in losses of 5 million, 3 million, and 2.65 million tons of wheat, respectively.

Although non-chemical control methods can also be effective against pests and diseases, when a particular pest or pathogen erupts, chemical control remains the only means of rapidly containing the outbreak and safeguarding crop yields.

It can be asserted that, for the foreseeable future, the development of modern agriculture and the assurance of food supply will remain inseparable from pesticides.

2 Pesticides do more good than harm.

Like any technological innovation in human progress, chemical pesticides are a double-edged sword: they can benefit humanity, yet also entail adverse side effects that run counter to human interests. The most significant of these side effects is their toxicity to humans, livestock, and other beneficial organisms.

The benefits of pesticides are most evident in their role as a critical safeguard for achieving bountiful agricultural yields: when used appropriately, they effectively control pests and diseases, eradicate weeds, and enhance both the quantity and quality of crops. In public health and disease prevention, they also play an indispensable role by boosting the production of animal‑derived foods, reducing the incidence of vector‑borne and parasitic diseases, and helping to manage zoonotic illnesses.

The drawbacks of pesticides stem from unscientific practices and their overuse, which give rise to food‑safety and ecological‑security concerns. While pesticides help control agricultural pests, they also pose toxic risks to beneficial organisms, including humans, livestock, poultry, honeybees, silkworms, birds, natural enemies of pests, and the beneficial microbial communities in soil. Moreover, pesticide residues that enter water bodies can contaminate aquatic life and groundwater. Fortunately, current scientific management and proper application of pesticides have reduced associated risks to very low levels.

3 Pesticide Use Data in China

At present, data on pesticide use in China are primarily sourced from three channels: FAO statistics, the National Bureau of Statistics, and the National Agricultural Technology Extension Center (Table 1). For instance, in 2018, the FAO reported pesticide use at 1.7736 million tonnes, while the National Bureau of Statistics recorded 1.5036 million tonnes—both figures refer to the quantity of formulated pesticides. By contrast, the National Agricultural Technology Extension Center reported a “conversion‑to‑100% active ingredient” equivalent of 268,400 tonnes. Since both the FAO and the National Bureau of Statistics report usage in terms of formulated‑product weight, whereas the National Agricultural Technology Extension Center uses the conversion‑to‑100% active‑ingredient metric, the ratio of formulated‑product weight to conversion‑to‑100% active‑ingredient weight ranges from 1:5.60 to 1:6.61.

According to data on the hundred‑percent active ingredient content of pesticides, China’s pesticide usage totaled 299,500 tons in 2015, declining to 268,400 tons by 2018. Between 2015 and 2018, total pesticide use fell by 31,600 tons, a reduction of 10.6%. In 2015, China’s total sown area for crops was 166.8 million hectares, with a per‑hectare pesticide application rate of 1.795 kg/ha; by 2018, the total sown area had decreased to 165.9 million hectares, while the per‑hectare application rate dropped to 1.618 kg/ha, representing a 9.9% decline. Publicly available data indicate that in 2018, California used 94,800 tons of pesticides over an area of 42.7 million hectares, yielding a per‑hectare application rate of 2.22 kg/ha. These figures show that China’s per‑hectare pesticide use is significantly lower than that of California. Moreover, since China’s pesticides are employed not only in agriculture but also for forest pest and disease control, post‑harvest grain storage, import/export quarantine, and public health pest management, the actual per‑hectare pesticide application rate in Chinese agriculture should be even lower than the calculated 1.618 kg/ha for 2018.

4 China’s share of global pesticide production

In China, it is common to hear experts at various conferences or in project‑approval reports state that the per‑unit‑area use of pesticides in China is two to three times that of developed countries (with some reports citing even higher figures), and that 9% of China’s arable land accounts for 50% to 60% of the world’s pesticide consumption.

Since the data reported by China are expressed in terms of pesticide formulation quantities, and given that different countries use varying pesticide formulations with widely differing active ingredient concentrations, such formulation‑based figures are not comparable.

China is vigorously developing water-based, environmentally friendly formulations; typically, the active ingredient content of suspension concentrates and emulsifiable concentrates ranges from 30% to 50%. For abamectin, one of the most widely used agrochemicals in China, the active ingredient concentration is generally only about 1.8%. Meanwhile, in recent years, the active ingredient content of newly developed fertilizer‑pesticide granules has often been below 0.5%, with some formulations even as low as 0.01%. Consequently, calculating pesticide application rates based on formulation potency is unreasonable.

FAO data indicate that the United States used 407,800 metric tons of pesticides in 2018. According to publicly available figures, California accounted for 94,800 metric tons of pesticide use in 2018. Given that California’s agricultural output represents approximately 22% of the U.S. total, extrapolating from this share yields an estimated 430,900 metric tons of pesticide use nationwide. By comparing these estimates with the FAO’s reported U.S. pesticide usage, it can be inferred that the 407,800 metric tons cited by the FAO likely refers to the equivalent of pure‑active‑ingredient (PAI) quantities.

Even when comparing pesticide usage between China and the United States, China cannot account for 50% of global pesticide consumption.

Other major producers and users of pesticides worldwide include the United States, Brazil, India, Japan, and others. More than 50% of China’s pesticide output is exported abroad. Consequently, it is highly unlikely that China’s pesticide consumption accounts for 50% of global usage.

According to pesticide data from Phillips McDougall, the global pesticide market generated total sales of approximately US$46.093 billion in 2020, while China’s pesticide market recorded total sales of about US$7.821 billion, accounting for roughly 16.97% of worldwide sales. Accordingly, it can be estimated that China’s pesticide usage represents no more than 20% of global consumption.

Compared with other countries, where per capita arable land is extensive and fallow periods are frequent, China faces the challenge of a large population and limited land, resulting in a high multiple-cropping index; accordingly, China’s pesticide application rate per unit area is not particularly high.

Authors: Cao Aocheng, Yan Dongdong, Wang Qiuxia, Li Yuan, and Fang Wensheng, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences

Source: New Media Hub for Pesticide Market Information