According to China’s Ministry
of Water Resources, due to the impact of the recent heavy rain in China, the
reservoir inflow of The Yangtze River Three Gorges Reservoir reached 50,000m³/second
at 2:00 p.m. on July 26. According to a report from July 27, the mainstream of the
middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River had gone beyond the warning water
level for the past 20 days since July 7. The report also stated that the mainstream
of the Huai River had also gone beyond the warning water lever for the past 10
days since July 17. As for Tai Lake, its water level had passed the warning
water level for the past 29 days since June 28. Recently, the Chu River in Anhui
province, Chang River in Jiangxi province and 104 other rivers in China have also
passed their warning water levels.
On July 12, due to the severe situation of the continuous torrential rain in
many places in China, the Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief
Headquarters increased the emergency response level from level III to level II.
Officials advised that companies and enterprises located close to the riverside
should be cautious and may stop operations and perform emergency evacuation when
necessary.
As of
July 12, the recent flooding has impacted 37.89 million people in 27 provinces including
Jiangxi, Anhui, Hubei and Hunan and has caused 141 deaths.
Flood
season of Yangtze River may influence pesticide suppliers
Due to
the severe flooding in the Yangtze River, supply of many pesticide products in
Jiangsu province and phosphate fertilizers in Hubei province has been
temporarily restricted.
The
flood has severely devastated several pesticide producing provinces located in
the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River such as Jiangsu, Hubei and six
other provinces. According to annual statics, the provinces affected by the
flood accounted for the following percentages of China’s annual chemical
industry revenue in 2018:Jiangsu (14.4%), Zhejiang (9.1%), Hubei (3.6%), Anhui
(2.9%), Hunan (2.6%), and Jiangxi (1.9%).
Most
chemical industries located beside the Yangtze River or within 3 km of the Yangtze
river produce pesticides and phosphate fertilizers. In 2019, Jiangsu produced
740 thousand tons of technical grade pesticides, accounting for 33% of China’s 2019
production. Over 20% of the agrochemicals produced in Jiangsu are distributed
within 3km of the Yangtze river, among which pesticides, herbicides, and
germicides account for 47%, 39%, and 56% respectively of China’s production.
Most
phosphorous chemical industries are distributed throughout the Hubei and
Sichuan provinces. It is estimated that industries producing ammonium
dihydrogen phosphate located within 1 km of the Yangtze river and between 1km
to 3 km of the Yangtze river account for 16% and 7% of the total number of ammonium
dihydrogen phosphate industries in China. Ammonium phosphate industries located
within 1 km of the Yangtze river and between 1km to 3 km of the Yangtze river
account for 11% and 4% of the total number of ammonium phosphate industries in
China.
Yangtze
River flooding may cause agrochemical shortages
Some
analysts believe that the extreme weather will slow down the demand and supply
of chemical products from the Yangtze river.
As most pesticide and phosphorous chemical industries lie on the Yangtze
river, some chemical products may even experience shortages. For example, the only producer of
methyldiethoxyphosphine, an intermediate for production of
glufosinate-ammonium, namely Honghu City Yitai Technology Co., Ltd. has suspended
production due to the flood disaster, and the timeline for work resumption
remains uncertain, which may affect the supply of glufosinate-ammonium.
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