In 2015, the Chinese pesticide industry was sluggish. All three categories of pesticide (fungicides, insecticides and herbicides) were affected. Insecticides experienced a downturn with production and price failing to meet market expectations.

Production
Insecticide production in 2015 declined from 2014 levels. According to data from the National Bureau of statistics, between Jan. and Dec., China produced 513,536 tonnes of insecticides (converted into 100% AI) overall, down by 4.3% YoY, and accounting for 13.72% of the national total chemical pesticide output. Currently, the market share of insecticide is second only to herbicide.

Exports
In 2015, the Chinese insecticide export market suffered serious setbacks. At the 3rd Pesticide Import and Export Analysis and Experience Exchange Meeting, which was held on 10 Dec., Zhang Wenjun, Deputy Director of International Cooperation Service of the Institute for the Control of Agrochemicals, Ministry of Agriculture (ICAMA) revealed that:

China's exports of insecticide recorded YoY drops in volume and value between Jan. and Nov., the largest declines of all categories of pesticide.

Several key insecticide varieties, such as chlorpyrifos, imidacloprid, acephate, methomyl and lambda-cyhalothrin, all suffered from varying declines in both the volume and value of exports.

Prices
The prices of insecticides generally continued their downward trend in 2015. According to price monitoring conducted by CCM, the majority of insecticide prices fell, chlorpyrifos, imidacloprid, acetamiprid, abamectin and emamectin benzoate being prime examples. Despite this, the price of some insecticide varieties managed to buck the trend and remain stable, such as cypermethrin TC, bifenthrin TC, monosultap TC and bisultap TC.

Output of pesticide (converted into 100% AI) by category in China, 2015

Source: NBS

China’s exports of pesticides by category, Jan.-Nov. 2015

Source: ICAMA & China Customs

Chlorpyrifos

In 2015, the ex-works price of chlorpyrifos dropped to its lowest ever point.

In Q1, the domestic market was barely active and foreign orders were few. However, environmental protection and intermediate supply problems reduced the supply of spot chlorpyrifos, keeping the ex-works price high in spite of a general downward trend.

In Q2, the ex-works price of chlorpyrifos fell due to weak demand. In addition, the two major factors which limited supply in Q1 forced some manufacturers to lower operating rates or even suspend production, causing output to keep falling.

In Q3, the price of chlorpyrifos continued to fall, decreasing slightly from Q2. Total market demand for insecticides was slack, and chlorpyrifos was no exception. Coupled with the effects of the Tianjin explosion and large military parade in Beijing, output continued to drop.

In Q4, the ex-works price of chlorpyrifos  remained low, and took a further hit before the end of the year. This was due to the presence of plentiful supplies of chlorpyrifos technical intermediates, which combined with weak market demand dragged the price to its lowest ever level.

Imidacloprid

In 2015, the imidacloprid technical market slumped. Over the course of H1, its price kept falling. In H2, its price remained low but stable.

The H1 price drop can be ascribed to the following factors:

• In 2014, existing technical manufacturers expanded production and new market entrants boosted overall production, leading to oversupply.

• From March 2015 onwards, foreign trade orders decreased.

• Thiamethoxam, which performs well as a seed dressing and is a real threat to imidacloprid, grabbed part of the market share.

• In the first half of 2015, manufacturers operated normally and had relative large inventories; but demand from the domestic market was scant.
  

In H2, the price of imidacloprid TC remained stable but low. The reasons for this being:

• RMB depreciation slightly increased the value of foreign trade.

• The price of 2-Chloro-5-chloromethylpyridine, the raw material of imidacloprid, remained stable and largely unchanged.

• Under the influence of the Tianjin explosion and the large military parade in Beijing, some manufacturers in Shandong and Hebei provinces were forced to suspend production, reducing sport pesticide supply.
  

Acetamiprid

In 2015, the domestic acetamiprid market was also in the doldrums. The average annual price was much lower than that in 2014. From March to Dec., the acetamiprid market was burdened with oversupply, bringing about a decline in price. Domestic and overseas orders were meager and the export market was slack. At the end of the year, some manufacturers had large quantities of stock. Approximate statistics indicate that at end of 2015 stock ranged from 300 tonnes to 400 tonnes.

Monthly ex-works price of 95% chlorpyrifos technical in China, Jan. 2014-Dec. 2015

Source: CCM

Monthly ex-works prices of 97% imidacloprid technical and 95% acetamiprid technical in China, Jan. 2014-Dec. 2015

Source: CCM

Abamectin

2015 bore witness to a more or less uninterrupted sharp drop in the price of abamectin.

In Q1, the market price of abamectin remained stable, equal to its 2014 level. At the end of Jan., slightly squeezed supply edged the price up.

In Q2, prices started to fall. Export orders decreased from the end of March onwards. Tight supply from Q1 was eased and together with slack domestic demand, supply and demand were balanced. In May, Shijiazhuang Xingbai Bio-engineering Co., Ltd. opted to suspend production because of slack demand.

In Q3, market demand for abamectin was still weak and the market price of abamectin continued to fall. By the end of Sept., the total stock of domestic manufacturers was nearly 200 tonnes. Since this product dissolves easily and cannot be stored for a long period of time, manufacturers were pressurized to offer cut-price promotions. In addition, some enterprises illegally produced abamectin without a production license, disrupting the product's market price.

In Q4, demand for abamectin was still weak. Despite this, its price remained stable and low, after the abamectin working group of the China Crop Protection Industry Association reported illegal unlicensed production to relevant departments. 

Emamectin benzoate

In the first half of 2015, the emamectin benzoate market trended downwards. It’s worth noting that its price followed the uptrend of the abamectin price in Q3.

Following March, the supply of spot abamectin was sufficient enough to support the supply of emamectin benzoate. However, foreign orders were few and domestic demand decreased, doing nothing to abate the drop in price. 

In Q3, with weak demand for emamectin benzoate and the decreasing price of abamectin, the downward trend in the price of emamectin benzoate continued.

In Q4, emamectin benzoate followed suit of abamectin price. As the abamectin price remained stable and low, so did the emamectin benzoate price.

Monthly ex-works prices of 95% abamectin technical and 70% emamectin benzoate technical in China, Jan. 2014-Dec. 2015

Source: CCM

About CCM:

CCM is the leading market intelligence provider for China’s agriculture, chemicals, food & ingredients and life science markets. Founded in 2001, CCM offers a range of data and content solutions, from price and trade data to industry newsletters and customized market research reports. Our clients include Monsanto, DuPont, Shell, Bayer, and Syngenta. CCM is a brand of Kcomber Inc.

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Tag: pesticide, insecticide, chlorpyrifos, imidacloprid, acetamiprid, Abamectin, Emamectin benzoate

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