Summary:
In November 2025, the fungicide industry presents three positive trends – performance recovery, technological breakthroughs and policy-driven growth. Resonance between export and domestic demand has emerged, with biological fungicides becoming a key growth engine. Meanwhile, structural pain points in the industry remain to be addressed, and the advantages of leading enterprises continue to stand out.
I. Eye-Catching Data: Dual Boom in Performance and Exports
The industry's profitability has rebounded significantly, with leading enterprises delivering outstanding results. Liming Co., Ltd. achieved a net profit attributable to shareholders of 390 million yuan in the third quarter of 2025, surging 661.66% year-on-year, while non-net profit after deducting non-recurring gains and losses jumped more than 10 times. The core driver stems from the dual growth in sales volume and prices of key products such as mancozeb and chlorothalonil. Specifically, the price of chlorothalonil rose from 18,000 yuan/ton in January 2024 to 29,500 yuan/ton in October 2025. The export market maintains strong growth momentum: from January to August 2025, China's fungicide exports reached 191,400 tons with an export value of 6.211 billion yuan, increasing by 25.09% and 27.77% year-on-year respectively. The proportion of high-end markets in Europe and North America has risen to 11.35%, and Southeast Asia has become the fastest-growing regional market. The biological fungicide track is growing rapidly – the market size is expected to reach 23 billion yuan in 2025, with a penetration rate exceeding 25% and an application rate of over 50% in high-value-added crop sectors such as fruits, vegetables and tea.
II. Latest Updates: Resonance Between Technological Breakthroughs and Policy Implementation
In terms of technological innovation, Chengdu Sunward Biotechnology Co., Ltd. has successfully developed "Wenkesu", a new microbial-derived fungicide. Its control effect against rice blast is 110 times that of traditional isoprothiolane and 850 times that of fenoxanil, with a per mu dosage only one-tenth of conventional agents. The product has obtained national invention patents and global patent protection layout. On the policy front, the European Union has renewed the approval period for emamectin benzoate until 2040, attaching multiple requirements including ecotoxicity prevention and control, which forces export enterprises to improve product compliance. Domestically, the "one license, one product" policy is set to be implemented in January 2026, coupled with the three-year campaign of "rectifying practices and curbing unhealthy competition". These measures raise industry access thresholds and accelerate the phase-out of small and medium-sized capacity. Prices have stabilized and rebounded – on November 2, the Sinochem Agriculture Lihua fungicide technical material price index stood at 70.86 points, up 1.41% month-on-month. Varieties such as tricyclazole are in short supply, making spot goods hard to obtain.
III. Core Pain Points and Key Focus Areas
The industry still faces multiple structural constraints. Firstly, cost pressure is differentiated – the unit price of biological fungicides is generally higher than that of chemical agents, and small and medium-sized enterprises lack economies of scale and technical reserves, making it difficult for them to meet the demand for green transition. Secondly, green trade barriers are intensifying – markets such as the European Union have stringent requirements on indicators like endocrine-disrupting properties and genotoxicity, requiring export enterprises to invest additional costs to meet testing standards. Thirdly, regional supply and demand are unbalanced – in winter disease-prone areas such as Southwest China, excessive rainfall has led to severe outbreaks of anthracnose and root rot, while some small and medium-sized producing areas face delays in pesticide supply.
Three key areas deserve attention. Firstly, the peak season for winter prevention and control is underway – the prevention of wheat sheath blight, rapeseed sclerotinia and orchard winter cleaning has driven demand for triazole-based agents and lime sulfur. Producing areas such as Yunnan have clearly recommended tebuconazole and kresoxim-methyl for winter disease control. Secondly, leading enterprises are advancing global layout – Liming Co., Ltd. has acquired the registration certificate for mancozeb in Brazil and expanded localized operations in Africa and Southeast Asia, with overseas revenue accounting for 34.57%. Thirdly, the integration of synthetic biology and AI technology – leading enterprises are reducing production costs through biosynthetic technology, and AI-assisted screening of new compounds has shortened the R&D cycle. RNAi biopesticides and small peptide biopesticides have become R&D hotspots.
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