Crop Protection China Monthly Report

Looking back at the prosperity of the pesticide industry from 2021 to 2022, manufacturers successively formulated new investment strategies to expand production capacity and scale. Leading companies in the industry not only focused on refining technical processes but also upgraded machinery to improve efficiency. This surge in activity attracted investors from various sectors, resulting in investments spanning from intermediates and active pharmaceutical ingredients to formulations and by-product utilization.

However, the market has been affected by the pandemic, prompting cautious buyers to increase their safety stock levels due to concerns over potential supply disruptions. As a result, excess capacity has now emerged across most product lines. In 2023, the market faced the dual challenges of oversupply from producers and declining consumer demand, leading to a downward spiral in prices. The global pesticide market is currently in a destocking phase, with an industry-wide slowdown.

In 2025, after a period of deep adjustment, China's pesticide industry bottomed out and rebounded. The annual output of technical-grade pesticide active ingredients (100% basis) exceeded 2.5 million tonnes, an increase of about 11% YoY, reaching a record high. The CAPI (China Crop Protection Industry Association) price index gradually recovered from a low of 78.85 at the beginning of the year, turning positive YoY in August, and closed at 84.26 in December, a YoY increase of 5.14%, indicating a positive trend of price bottoming out and improved operational quality.

In May, the 2025 ranking of China's top pesticide companies was released. The top 10 generated combined sales of USD15.82 billion (RMB113.01 billion), up 10.75% YoY at the average exchange rate (USD1 = RMB7.1429), reversing a slowdown and returning to double‑digit growth.

Regionally, Jiangsu Province, Shandong Province, Zhejiang Province and Hubei Province accounted for about 67% of the total sales. In formulations, Shandong Province, Jiangsu Province and Guangdong Province led the number, together contributing about 48% of the top 100 formulation companies' revenue. The top pesticide firms posted total sales of USD44.19  billion (RMB301.25  billion), maintaining steady growth. ADAMA, Weifang Rainbow and Jiangsu Yangnong ranked in the top three. The top formulation companies recorded total sales of USD9.62 billion (RMB65.60 billion), with Guangdong Zhongxun, Shenzhen Noposion and Ningbo Tide leading the segment.

In this report, the exchange rate adopted for 2025 data is USD1=RMB7.1429, and for 2024 data, the exchange rate is USD1 = RMB7.1102, both based on the annual average exchange rate from the People's Bank of China.