Demand for herbicides in China will grow in 2018 12-04-2017

According to official data by Beijing, the demand for herbicides in China will rise in 2018. Market intelligence firm CCM lists some of the main factors influencing the demand in China.



 


Official data from the Chinese government are revealing, that the country is increasing the demand for herbicides in 2018, compared to the current year. The growth is stated to be around 3%. 


Glyphosate, the famous herbicide that recently has made big news when the European Union has agreed to keep it for another 5 years on the fields, will be one of the top herbicides by demand in China again. The data also shows the herbicides with the highest growth in demand for 2018, including pesticides like penoxsulam.


In 2017, weeds seriously affected China’s farmlands. Affected by environmental protection, rising raw material prices, as well as increasing labour and transportation costs, the market prices of herbicide technical keep rising in the middle kingdom. It is predicted that the total consumption volumes of chemical pesticide will be rising slightly over last year. Thereinto, the usage of herbicides also witness growth.


Factors that influence in China’s herbicide market

Weed resistance to herbicides is one of the key drivers for influencing herbicide demand in the next year. Monitoring results show that there are increasing weeds resistant to herbicide in rice, wheat and corn fields, with a rising resistance level and expanding occurrence area. To counter the rising resistance of weed on China’s fields, farmers are increasing the dose of herbicides used to kill them, which further speed up resistance processes. In fact, herbicide-resistant weeds are one of the biggest problems in the market nowadays. One measurement to counter resistance is the usage of mixed formulations, which will become more important in China in the future.


Furthermore, new weeds are entering Chinese crop fields, raising new problems for farmers, but opening opportunities for herbicide sellers. In the past two years, new weeds such as Iran speed well and malachium aquaticum have been found on Chinese fields. These new weeds along with some other ones have become major weeds in some areas of the middle kingdom, and they are difficult to control. Hence, new herbicides are searched for by Chinese farmers to effectively counter the spread of new weeds while still fighting the regular weeds as well.


What’s more, farmers in China are getting more skilled in using different herbicides. Some herbicide products are highly disputed in China. As a result, farmers don’t really trust them and refuse to use them on their crops. As a fact, farmers used to be unaware of specific application methods for their herbicide products and they used them wrong, not bringing the results they hoped for. However, Chinas’ farmers are slowly learning how to use different kinds of herbicides regarding weather changes and application scopes. Hence, previously unpopular herbicides are getting more popular again in many regions of China, so manufacturers and traders can expect more sales in the coming year.


Product prices greatly affect the purchase habits of farmers, but as the number of weeds is rising and resistant weeds become a more serious issue day after day, regular herbicides cannot solve these problems. In other words, cost becomes less important for farmers, or at least not a priority. They are willing to spend more on herbicides, as long as they are effective.


Finally, it used to take a long time to promote a herbicide with new ingredients, but now, once a new product that demonstrates good weedkilling effects comes to market, it immediately sells quickly. Distributors and enterprises both pay great attention to new product promotions and launches. It has become normal for distributors to pay in advance for new products. Enterprises also register new products quickly, and farmers don't care what they cost.


About this news

CCM is publishing a monthly Newsletter about China’s herbicides market. Stay updated in the market and get insight from market insiders by subscribing to the monthly report.

 

The Newsletter includes market news, influencing politics, company dynamics, price, import, export, and much other relevant information for enterprises involved in the herbicide business in China.


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