The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China will guide and promote the high-quality development of the agrochemical industry.

The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China has charted the course for the pesticide industry, laid a solid foundation for its development over the next five years, and will undoubtedly propel the high-quality growth of China’s agrochemical sector.

“The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China will guide and promote the high-quality development of the agrochemical industry.”

The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China has placed high-quality development of the manufacturing sector in a more prominent position, making the accelerated transformation and upgrading of traditional industries and the vigorous cultivation and development of emerging industries the top priorities for achieving high-quality growth.

In recent years, although China’s agrochemical industry has seen improvements in product innovation and profitability compared with other petrochemical subsectors, it still lags significantly behind in achieving high-quality development. Despite the fact that most Chinese agrochemical companies have reported year-on-year profit growth, the industry’s average profit margin remains at a relatively low level.

This is primarily due to the fact that, as a traditional industry in China, the agrochemical sector has been undergoing transformation and upgrading at a slow pace, with many small and medium-sized enterprises still relying on relatively outdated production technologies and processes. Moreover, stringent environmental and safety regulations have driven up production costs, thereby hindering improvements in the industry’s overall profitability. Based on my observations of certain regional SMEs in the agrochemical sector, several companies have reported year-on-year declines in key indicators such as gross industrial output value, product sales revenue, and profits after taxes. Coupled with substantial outstanding issues and numerous hidden risks in safety and environmental compliance, many small and medium-sized agrochemical firms—particularly those below the designated scale—are struggling to sustain operations. Furthermore, there remains a dearth of green agrochemical products—namely, highly effective, safe, and low-residue formulations—and the market continues to be dominated by low‑end offerings.

Looking at the product portfolios of many companies, even though some agrochemical firms offer dozens or even hundreds of formulations, there is little differentiation in product tiers; most remain stuck at the low end. A proliferation of conceptual products has led to overlapping offerings within the same target markets, market confusion, and price and competitive conflicts among similar products.

Against this industry backdrop, for the agrochemical sector to achieve high-quality development and enhance economic efficiency, it must accelerate the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries, vigorously pursue technological upgrades across enterprises, continuously strengthen both technological and managerial innovation, and timely modernize existing facilities and production processes. By optimizing the allocation of existing resources and expanding the supply of high‑quality incremental output, only then can the industry embark on a path of high‑quality growth.

“The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China will steer the agrochemical industry toward green development.”

In his report to the 20th National Congress, Xi Jinping proposed advancing green development and fostering harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature.

The traditional agrochemical industry is energy-intensive and generates substantial pollutant emissions, making it one of the key sectors drawing significant public attention.

For the majority of domestic pesticide‑active‑ingredient manufacturers, production entails high energy consumption, low product value added, and poor recovery rates of unreacted raw materials and by‑products. Among China’s pesticide enterprises, small and medium‑sized firms still predominate; burdened by longstanding inefficiencies and constrained by gaps in technology, financing, and awareness, these companies fall far short of meeting current national policy requirements for energy conservation, emissions reduction, and clean production. In particular, substandard treatment facilities for the “three wastes” have become a major bottleneck to the development of most pesticide producers. Moreover, China’s pesticide formulations are predominantly oil‑based emulsions, wettable powders, and granules, with limited water‑based products. Coupled with an insufficiently scientific approach to pesticide application, substantial amounts of organic solvents and additives are released into the environment during use, contributing to environmental pollution.

Therefore, the agrochemical industry must intensify efforts to promote and apply advanced clean‑production processes and technologies, strengthen the introduction, assimilation, and further innovation of cutting‑edge foreign clean‑production technologies, and guide agrochemical enterprises from conventional manufacturing toward green innovation, thereby bolstering their core competitiveness and elevating their level of green manufacturing.

“The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China will comprehensively promote the optimization and upgrading of the pesticide product structure.”

The report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China states that we must accelerate the green transformation of our development model, comprehensively implement a conservation strategy, develop green and low-carbon industries, promote green consumption, and foster green and low-carbon modes of production and lifestyles.

The key to the healthy development of an industry lies in whether its product mix is rational. From the perspective of the pesticide industry as a whole, technical-grade active ingredients are strong while formulated products remain weak; most companies are still confined to competing on low‑end products, and product homogenization remains widespread across the sector.

Going forward, priority should be given to the development and production of new, efficient, safe, and environmentally friendly pesticide varieties, novel formulations, specialized intermediates, and adjuvants; to the targeted synthesis of chiral and stereoisomeric pesticides; and to the R&D and manufacturing of new biopesticide products and technologies. These efforts will help optimize the pesticide product mix, accelerate product upgrading and replacement, and enhance both the technological sophistication and added value of these products. Moreover, through well‑designed incentive, restriction, and phase‑out policies, it is possible to scientifically and effectively upgrade enterprises’ technological capabilities, refine their product portfolios, and expedite product modernization. At the same time, as pesticide companies work to optimize their product structures, they should further refine their brand architectures: even within a single manufacturer, premium‑grade products and mid‑to‑low‑end offerings should each carry distinct brands. Refining and optimizing the product‑brand structure is itself a critical component of structural adjustment and upgrading, and must be pursued with urgency and diligence.

“The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China will strongly promote scientific and technological innovation in the agrochemical industry.”

The report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China stated that innovation must be given a central role in the overall endeavor of China’s modernization.

For the agrochemical industry, although China has achieved certain accomplishments in recent years, its production remains predominantly based on imitation, with a high degree of product homogeneity and relatively weak R&D for new products. Technological progress and innovation capacity still require further enhancement, and insufficient investment in technological upgrading continues to undermine the long-term growth potential of enterprises, leaving several critical technical challenges亟待 addressed.

Against this backdrop, we must take the report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China as our guiding principle and leverage technological advances to upgrade existing production and management practices. The approach to pesticide research and development should shift from a coarse‑grained, one‑size‑fits‑all model to one that emphasizes precision, and from prioritizing physicochemical properties to focusing on biological activity. In the future, labor‑saving, precision‑application formulations, seed coatings, controlled‑release technologies, and nanotechnology will be key areas of R&D.

In addition, it is essential to integrate technological innovation with efforts to upgrade the overall equipment standards of the pesticide industry and to enhance its levels of digitalization, networking, and intelligent control; to align it with the strengthening of clean production processes and comprehensive recycling; and to link it with energy conservation, emission reduction, resource efficiency, and industrial transformation and upgrading. This will guide enterprises toward a path of catch-up‑driven and collaborative technological innovation, enabling them to steadily build up their capacity for independent innovation.

In addition, we should leverage leading enterprises, orient research toward common and cutting-edge technologies that are critical to the entire industry, and make research outcomes available for industry-wide sharing, thereby driving the sector’s overall development. We will promote the establishment of a collaborative innovation system centered on enterprises and integrating industry, academia, research, and application, while actively exploring models such as using technical standards to guide industrial development and fostering entrepreneurship around innovative breakthroughs, thus fostering close integration between scientific research and production. By fully harnessing the creativity and initiative of market players, we will accelerate the commercialization of scientific and technological achievements, ensure the rational allocation and efficient utilization of limited resources, and further advance technological innovation in the agrochemical industry.

“The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China will accelerate the modernization of the agrochemical industry.”

The report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China proposed building a modern industrial system and steadfastly focusing on the real economy as the key driver of economic development.

The modernization of China’s agrochemical industry is pivotal to upgrading conventional pesticides and represents an indispensable step on the path from a major producer of traditional pesticides to a global leader in advanced agrochemicals.

At present, declining exports and negative growth in domestic pesticide use have led to a sustained drop in domestic pesticide production. Coupled with tightening domestic safety and environmental regulations, as well as factors such as the COVID‑19 pandemic, the Russia‑Ukraine war, and the U.S.–China trade dispute, the overall domestic and international environment is placing increasing pressure on the pesticide industry’s development.

Against this backdrop, traditional agrochemical companies must accelerate the integration of digitalization, networking, and intelligent technologies with the agrochemical industry in order to strengthen their market competitiveness and enhance their economic performance. With the advent of 5G technology, the development of informationization is entering a new historical phase, and the deep convergence of digitalization, networking, and intelligence with industrialization is increasingly becoming an intrinsic driving force for high-quality development.

Going forward, the agrochemical industry must prioritize the integrated application of information technologies such as 5G and blockchain, driving deep convergence among digitalization, networking, intelligence, and industrialization. It should further advance the deployment of cutting-edge technologies—including digitalization, networking, and intelligent systems—across all stages of the product lifecycle, from R&D and design to production, marketing, and recycling. At the same time, efforts should be accelerated to promote and apply key common technologies, such as blockchain, alongside modern production management systems, supporting widespread adoption of enterprise resource planning, manufacturing execution, customer relationship management, and other management information systems, as well as their comprehensive integration. By fostering the embedded application of digital, networked, and intelligent technologies within the agrochemical sector, we will strive to elevate China’s level of agrochemical modernization.

In summary, guided by the report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, we must pool the collective wisdom of the entire industry, vigorously pursue scientific and technological innovation, accelerate the transition to green and sustainable development, and promote the digital, networked, and intelligent upgrading of the pesticide sector. By doing so, we will advance the high-quality development of China’s pesticide industry and help transform our country from a major traditional pesticide producer into a modern, world‑leading powerhouse in this field.

Source: WeChat Official Account: A New Media Platform for Pesticide Market Information