H1 2026 China Pesticide Registrations: Unlocking Trends for Strategic Product Development

1. Sustained Registration Growth: Formulations Continue to Anchor Market Development

From 2020 to 2025, the number of annual PD certificate approvals was 793, 2,458, 438, 1,009, 2,376, and 4,381. Although the regulatory transition period triggered substantial volatility between 2020 and 2022, the industry rebounded with three straight years of expansion from 2023 onward. This growth trajectory persisted through H1 2026, where formulated products maintained their dominance, significantly outpacing TC/TK registrations as the principal source of new market entries.

Alongside this volume growth, the competitive landscape is rapidly decentralizing. In 2025, 841 different companies successfully obtained new certificates, while the market share of the top ten recipients shrank to just 8.9%—a notable drop from 13.5% in 2020. This indicates a clear shift away from high market concentration. Consequently, product development centered on mature active ingredients and conventional crop protection scenarios has evolved into a highly competitive, multi-player arena.

2. Fungicide Registrations Expand as Competition Intensifies Around Established Active Ingredients

In H1 2026, herbicides, insecticides, fungicides and plant growth regulators accounted for 29.5%, 28.9%, 25.3% and 11.6% of all new PD certificates, respectively.

• Fungicides experienced a remarkable expansion, leading the major categories with 540 approved certificates—a 39.2% surge compared to H1 2025 (388 approvals).

• Insecticides captured a larger slice of the market, with their share climbing from 22.3% in 2020 to 28.9%, narrowing the gap with herbicides.

• Herbicides maintained their volume leadership as the largest category, despite their share dropping below the 37.3% high recorded in 2020.

Mature active ingredients remain a magnet for corporate investment, leading to a clustering of new registrations around a narrow band of popular substances. Table 1 details the number of newly approved formulated-product certificates—including both single-active and premix formulations—associated with these high-frequency active ingredients.

Table 1. Frequently registered active ingredients in China, H1 2026

The intense clustering of registrations around established substances underscores a growing trend of product homogenization. As companies repeatedly develop the same active ingredients and conventional mixtures, they face increasingly fierce competition and narrowing margins within heavily saturated market segments.

3. Premixes Maintain Their Lead: Market Competition Shifts Toward Justified Differentiation

Premixes remain the undisputed anchor of formulated-product registrations. Their share has grown from 57.3% in 2020 to 68.1% in H1 2026, holding steady after a peak of 70.1% in 2024. The concentration is striking: in the first half of 2026 alone, 20 distinct active-ingredient combinations each generated at least ten new formulated-product certificates.

Table 2. Top Ten Premixes and Single-Active Products Approvals, H1 2026

A deeper dive into these registrations reveals a high degree of homogenization. Many established premixes overlap completely—sharing identical active ingredients, total active content, formulation types, and registered crop-pest applications. Conversely, some combinations manage to carve out differentiated niches:

• Chlorantraniliprole + emamectin (28 certificates): Extreme use concentration. 89.3% (25 certificates) were registered exclusively to control rice leaffolder in rice.

• Chlorantraniliprole + indoxacarb (16 certificates): Heavy overlap in a single scenario. 56.3% (9 certificates) targeted only diamondback moth control in cabbage.

• Prothioconazole + tebuconazole (15 certificates): Core targets align, but scopes vary. While all 15 cover Fusarium head blight in wheat, six are restricted to this disease, whereas nine expand their labels to include powdery mildew and/or rust.

• Pyraclostrobin + epoxiconazole (15 certificates): Higher versatility. Registrations spanned four crops and seven crop-target combinations, though six certificates still crowded into the identical "Fusarium head blight in wheat" segment.

This homogenization extends to single-active products. Out of 46 new glufosinate-P certificates, 43 were registered strictly for non-crop land weed control. Strikingly, exactly half (23 certificates) were identical 20% glufosinate-P-ammonium soluble concentrates meant for this exact use.

However, repeated registrations do not automatically equate to a saturated market. Products with a sharply defined crop protection role and proven practical advantages can still capture market share. The key to survival is anchoring product differentiation in concrete agronomic benefits:

• Insecticides / fungicides: Proven efficacy against target threats, backed by proactive resistance-management strategies.

• Herbicides: Enhanced crop safety, optimized application timing, and highly targeted weed spectrums.

• Strategic Portfolio Expansion: Innovating with new formulations, scientifically rationalized mixtures, and label expansions to maximize the lifecycle value of mature active ingredients and escape "me-too" competition.

Regulatory frameworks are actively pushing the industry in this direction. Existing rules strictly limit concentration gradients and mixing ratios. More importantly, the draft amendments to the Data Requirements for Pesticide Registration (issued July 31, 2026) signal a stricter future: companies will soon be required to provide hard data proving the necessity, scientific validity, and rationality of any new formulation, mixture, or concentration compared to existing market alternatives.

4. Formulation Shifts: The Rise of Water-Based Solutions and the "Low Toxicity" Misconception

The formulation landscape is undergoing a clear structural shift, with new registrations heavily concentrated in suspension concentrates (SC) and soluble concentrates (SL). In H1 2026, these two types captured 58.5% of all new formulated-product registrations—a sharp increase from 41.1% in 2020. Conversely, traditional formats such as emulsifiable concentrates (EC), wettable powders (WP), and other powders saw their combined share shrink from 18.2% to just 10.5%.

Because suspension concentrates and water-based formulations already saturate the market, simply adopting these formulation types is no longer a competitive differentiator. Next-generation formulation development must be precision-engineered for specific crops, target organisms, and application methods. Companies need to deliver verifiable upgrades in physical stability, application efficiency, and ease of use, ultimately enabling end-users to achieve superior efficacy with reduced chemical inputs.

On the toxicity front, 94.9% of newly registered formulations in H1 2026 fell into China's slight- or low-toxicity classifications. However, it is a strategic error to equate lower acute toxicity with a genuinely "low-risk" profile. Comprehensive product stewardship—encompassing crop residue limits, non-target organism safety, environmental persistence, and occupational exposure—remains a stringent regulatory focus. To truly align with modern "high-efficiency, low-risk" policy directives, developers must seamlessly integrate these broader environmental and safety metrics into their core formulation design.

5. Registrations Pivot to Cereals and Vegetables, Exposing Targeted Gaps in Minor Crop Protection

5.1 Cereals and Vegetables: Differentiation Must Address Specific Agronomic Needs

Staple cereals and vegetables firmly dominated formulated-product registration activity in H1 2026. Analyzing the registered use entries for newly approved formulations, rice, wheat, and maize accounted for 43.4%, while vegetables and edible fungi claimed 22.8%—capturing a combined 66.2% of the total. In contrast, fruit crops accounted for 14.4%, soybeans and other oilseeds for 6.9%, and tea and specialty cash crops for just 3.8%.

Looking at specific use entries, rice, wheat, and maize recorded 452, 378, and 161 entries, respectively. Among cash crops, citrus led with 151 entries, followed by cucumber (134), cabbage (106), peanut (98), grape (54), and tomato (52). Compared to 2020, the share for fruit crops fell from 18.4% to 14.4%, and tea and specialty crops declined from 7.5% to 3.8%. This clearly indicates that new registrations are accelerating toward crops central to staple-food security and the "vegetable basket" supply.

Formulation development for these heavily registered crops demands a razor-sharp definition of the problem the product aims to solve:

• Cereals: The priority is protecting yield in large-scale production, necessitating consistent efficacy, high crop selectivity, and compatibility with efficient application methods (e.g., aerial spraying).

• Fruit, Vegetables and Specialty Crops: The focus shifts to protecting both yield and visual quality. Key differentiators include marketable produce safety, strict alignment with harvest schedules, and stringent residue management.

In saturated segments, product differentiation is only credible when backed by superior field performance and seamless compatibility with local cultivation practices.

5.2 High-Frequency Targets: Resistance Management and Application Suitability Lead Innovation

Diseases, weeds and insect pests accounted for 27.9%, 27.8% and 23.6% of formulated-product use entries in H1 2026, respectively. Frequently registered targets included annual weeds (332 entries), aphids (120), powdery mildew (96), Fusarium head blight (81), thrips (63), diamondback moth (52) and root-knot nematodes (35).

For these high-frequency targets, development value lies in expanding effective control options while strengthening resistance management. Registrations heavily feature active ingredients from FRAC Groups 3, 11, and 7; IRAC Groups 28, 4A, 6, and 13; and HRAC Groups 5, 15, 2, and 27. Consequently, new R&D is most impactful when it directly addresses reduced sensitivity to existing chemicals, a lack of rotation options, or inconsistent field performance.

The H1 approvals of chlorantraniliprole + emamectin (IRAC 28 + 6) and pyraclostrobin + epoxiconazole (FRAC 11 + 3) illustrate the ongoing push for cross-mechanism premixes. However, a difference in composition alone is no longer enough. A product's resistance-management value must be substantiated against the specific target population, factoring in baseline sensitivity, individual component efficacy, cross-resistance risks, and the broader rotation program.

5.3 Specialty Minor Crops: Availability Improves, But Structural Gaps Persist

By the end of 2025, 8,652 registered products covered 178 specialty minor crops. While overall availability has broadened, effective options remain critically limited for specific crop-target combinations. The following cases—drawn from H1 2026 approvals and the national dataset (as of August 25, 2026)—highlight these structural gaps:

• Chinese Chive (Chive Maggot) – The Need for Delivery Innovation: Previously listed among minor crops facing severe pesticide shortages, Chinese chive saw 13 new formulated-product certificates for chive maggot in H1 2026. Six were for chlorfenapyr + clothianidin. Nationally, 40 certificates now cover this specific combination and target. Strikingly, all 40 are suspension concentrates (SC), and 35 share an identical 28% active-ingredient content. Future development here must pivot away from identical formulations toward providing novel rotation options and optimizing root-zone delivery.

• Strawberry – Balancing Efficacy with Continuous Harvesting: Ten new certificates covered strawberries in H1, primarily targeting powdery mildew, grey mould, and two-spotted spider mites. Suzhou's 2026 crop protection guidance explicitly highlights that local protected-strawberry harvests overlap with peak pest pressures, stressing the need for strict pre-harvest intervals and pollinator protection. Products that can effectively balance efficacy with harvest rhythms, low residues, and pollinator safety carry immense practical value.

• Dragon Fruit (Anthracnose) – A Shortage of Rotation Mechanisms: Only one new certificate was approved in H1. As of August 2026, just 31 certificates cover this use globally, reliant on only four active ingredients (azoxystrobin, pyraclostrobin, prochloraz, and mefentrifluconazole) concentrated entirely within FRAC Groups 11 and 3. With 24 of these restricted to greenhouse cultivation, the options for diverse rotation programs remain severely bottlenecked. Expanding effective treatments across broader modes of action remains a high priority.

5.4 Policy Outlook: Real-World Value Must Drive Registration Strategies

From the 14th Five-Year National Pesticide Industry Development Plan to the 2026 initiative promoting "precision pesticide use, quality, and efficiency," China's regulatory compass points firmly toward efficacy, safety, and field suitability. Existing caps on premixes and concentration gradients—coupled with the draft registration data requirements emphasizing "development necessity"—send a clear message: scientific rationality, targeted innovation, and verified field performance will dictate the future of formulation development.

For cereals and vegetables, success depends on optimizing existing crop protection programs. For specialty minor crops, success lies in pinpointing genuine supply gaps. Minor-crop projects must be rigorously assessed against regional cultivation scales, actual pest pressures, and the shortcomings of incumbent products. Moving forward, a clearly defined agronomic objective, a precise use scenario, and differentiation backed by robust field data are the non-negotiable foundations for successful formulation development and registration in China.

REACH24H: Translating Product Potential into Approval-Driven Registration Strategies

Under China's revised Regulation on the Administration of Pesticides and its rigorous evaluation framework, formulation registration is far more than a mere market-entry hurdle. It directly dictates development timelines, compliance costs, and the ultimate commercial competitiveness of a product post-launch.

The REACH24H agrochemical regulatory team has empowered numerous domestic and international enterprises to successfully navigate this landscape and secure formulation registrations. Going beyond simple dossier compilation, our experts translate your core product concepts and unique differentiators into optimized study programs. We ensure every submission precisely addresses the stringent technical review standards of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA) and the Institute for the Control of Agrochemicals (ICAMA), transforming regulatory compliance into a strategic driver of product success.

Targeted Support For Key Formulation Development Scenarios

REACH24H delivers highly customized technical support aligned with your product's market positioning and differentiation strategy.

1. New Formulation Types and Concentrations

• Feasibility & Competitive Benchmarking: We evaluate proposed products against existing registrations to assess regulatory feasibility and pinpoint the commercial advantages of introducing a new formulation type or concentration.

• Quality Specifications & Study Strategy: We define precise product chemistry and quality-control parameters while designing toxicology, efficacy, and environmental study strategies that perfectly balance regulatory compliance with cost-efficiency.

2. New Premixes (Mixtures)

• Development rationale: We construct robust scientific justifications for your project, analyzing resistance mechanisms in target pests, pathogens, and weeds, evaluating potential synergy, and establishing a solid scientific basis for combining the proposed active ingredients.

• Integrated Evaluation: We coordinate laboratory activity testing, field efficacy trials, comprehensive safety evaluations, and resistance-risk assessments to substantiate mixing ratios and meet all regulatory thresholds.

3. Registration Amendments: Expanded Uses, Rates, or Methods

• Data Gap Assessment & Trial Planning: We identify exactly what efficacy, residue, and environmental data is required to add new crops or targets, subsequently optimizing trial locations and crop-cycle scheduling to save time.

• Application Rate & Method Optimization: We provide the technical substantiation needed for proposed application-rate changes and develop robust supporting residue study strategies and pre-harvest interval (PHI) proposals.

4. Specialty Minor-Crop Registrations

• Policy Leverage: We identify specific regulatory circumstances where minor-crop policies allow for reduced, simplified, or entirely waived data requirements.

• Data Bridging & Crop Grouping: We assess the feasibility of sharing, bridging, or extrapolating existing data to map out the most cost-effective registration pathway and minimize supplementary testing.

End-to-End Support: From Market Access to Lifecycle Maintenance

REACH24H provides dedicated regulatory representation and consulting—from project initiation and regulatory approval all the way through post-registration lifecycle management.

Stage 1: Registration Pathway Assessment & Gap Analysis

We review your existing development data and overseas studies against Chinese regulatory requirements, pinpointing critical gaps to eliminate avoidable work and duplicate testing.

Stage 2. Study Design & GLP Oversight in China

We evaluate and select highly qualified Chinese pesticide registration testing facilities, optimize study designs, oversee trial progress to ensure strict GLP compliance, and conduct rigorous peer reviews of final reports.

Stage 3. Dossier Preparation & Comprehensive Risk Assessment

We help to prepare the full spectrum of product chemistry, toxicology, efficacy, residue, and environmental documentation. Supported by our expert toxicology and ecotoxicology specialists, this includes dietary, human-health, environmental, ecological, and pesticide resistance-risk assessments, as well as evaluations of processing factors.

Stage 4. Regulatory Engagement & Technical Defense

We guide your product through the provincial preliminary review, actively monitor ICAMA's technical evaluation and the National Pesticide Registration Review Committee's assessment, and prepare prompt, technically substantiated responses to any official requests for additional information.

Stage 5. Post-Registration Compliance & Lifecycle Management

We proactively manage your portfolio, providing 180- and 90-day renewal alerts for five-year certificates. We also handle registration amendments, export-only pesticide registrations (under Announcement No. 269), import/export clearance notices, label compliance reviews, and customized corporate regulatory training.

Why Partner with REACH24H?

• Global Experience: Since our establishment in 2012, our agrochemical regulatory team has provided top-tier technical compliance services to over 2,000 companies worldwide, including industry leaders across China, Japan, the United States, and Europe.

• Proven Track Record: Following the sweeping 2017 regulatory reforms, our technical team has successfully secured over 50 Chinese pesticide registration certificates for our clients, including 7 highly complex new-pesticide (novel AI) registration certificates.

• Industry-Leading Risk Assessment Expertise: As early pioneers in China's pesticide risk-assessment sector, our team has completed more than 1,000 comprehensive risk-assessment reports, serving and supporting many of the global Top 100 agrochemical enterprises.

References

Li Youshun et al. Analysis of pesticide registrations in China in 2022 and recent years. Published on the China Crop Protection Industry Association website, 14 April 2023.

Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. Decision on Amending and Repealing Certain Rules. Published in 2025; the relevant pesticide-related amendments took effect on 1 January 2026.

Department of Crop Production, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. Notice seeking comments on amendments to the Data Requirements for Pesticide Registration, 31 July 2026.

ICAMA. Delivering practical benefits for farmers: advancing pesticide registrations for specialty minor crops, 18 June 2026.

General Office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. List of specialty minor crops facing pesticide shortages and crop-group lists for efficacy and residue trials, 2019.

Suzhou Municipal Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. Pest and disease conditions in protected strawberry production and control recommendations for 2026, 3 February 2026.

Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. 14th Five-Year National Pesticide Industry Development Plan.