Summary: Sino-agri Union has planned to build a trifluenfuronate TC line for pilot-scale test in its subsidiary Shandong United Pesticide, which means that the company is making active efforts to achieve large-scale industrial production of this self-developed insecticide as soon as possible.

In March 2023, CCM learned from Shandong Sino-Agri United Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (Sino-agri Union) that its wholly-owned subsidiary Shandong United Pesticide Industry Co., Ltd. (Shandong United Pesticide) had filed for record at local government of the construction project of an environmentally friendly pesticide production and R&D base (Scientific and Technological Achievements Transformation Centre). According to its plan, Shandong United Pesticide will build pilot-scale test lines for several self-developed pesticides TC (trifluenfuronate TC included) in its existing production plant in the Daiyue Chemical Industry Park, Tai'an City, Shandong Province. The pilot-scale test is a necessary step after a lab scale test to bring a product into commercial production.

Sino-agri Union, listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, is one of the large pesticide conglomerates in China, engaged in R&D, production and sale of pesticides. In recent years, Sino-agri Union has achieved great breakthroughs in independent R&D of novel pesticides, of which the trifluenfuronate is a representative. Trifluenfuronate is a new and safe nematicide with particularly high activity against a wide range of nematodes; it has low toxicity and good persistence. Sino-agri Union has already obtained patents for trifluenfuronate in China, the US, the EU, Australia and some other countries or regions. The company is also actively applying for pesticide registration for its trifluenfuronate TC and formulation products.

There is a great variety of nematode species, and they cause ever growing agricultural losses worldwide year by year. In China, nematodes are one of major pests impacting normal agricultural production. To deal with these attackers, chemical control is an important measure, and with its efficiency and convenience, it is popular in the market. It is widely recognised that the global nematicide market still has much void to be filled, and investment is urgently needed for the development of high-efficacy novel nematicides. In the Chinese nematicide market, new varieties like trifluenfuronate, fluensulfone, fluazaindolizine and cyclobutrifluram have attracted much attention. Answering such expectations, Sino-agri Union is actively pushing for large-scale industrial production as early as possible.

Shandong United Pesticide's plant in Daiyue Chemical Industry Park is one of the important production bases for Sino-agri Union. It is believed that this plant will accommodate a large-scale industrial production line for trifluenfuronate once mature technology and stable production of trifluenfuronate TC is mastered. Currently, Shandong United Pesticide has had large-scale capacity for several pesticide TC & intermediates, including 2,000 t/a imidacloprid TC, 2,000 t/a acetamiprid TC, 1,300 t/a nitenpyram TC, 1,200 t/a pymetrozine TC, 1,000 t/a pyridaben TC, 800 t/a chlorfenapyr TC, 300 t/a thiamethoxam TC, 200 t/a thiacloprid TC, 3,000 t/a 2-chloro-5-chloromethylpyridine (CCMP) and 10,000 t/a pesticide formulations. Besides, the company has a 1,300 t/a bifenthrin TC project under construction; it is also expanding the capacity for acetamiprid TC and CCMP by 5,000 t/a and 10,000 t/a, respectively.