2023cpild

Core products Add: Floor 15.No.45 South Tangu Street, Shijiazhuang Hebei, P.R.China Web: www.fortune-group.cn E-mail: bestar@bestarchem.com Tel: +86-311-85081802 GLP DATA: Imidacloprid Emamectin Benzoate Picoxystrobin Pyraclostrobin Penoxsulam Clethodim Chlorfenapyr Clothianidin Glyphosate Chlorantraniliprole Acetamiprid Thiamethoxam Spirodiclofen Lufenuron Prothioconazole Glufosinate GLP Labs: Nutrichem ,BIOAGRI ,STILLMEADOW,EPP,JRF,RCC,ROTAM 100 ICAMA in hand and another 4 ICAMA in process Basic manufacturer with 1300 employees and 50 hectares land in chemical zone Imidacloprid Thiamethoxam Acetamiprid Chlorfenapyr Clothianidin 6000T/Year 8000T/Year 4000T/Year 2000T/Year 1000T/Year 吡虫啉 噻虫嗪 啶虫脒 溴虫腈 噻虫胺 THE MAIN MANUFACTURER FOR  IMIDACLOPRID, THIAMETHOXAM, ACETAMIPRID

CONTENTS PUBLISHER STANLEY ALLIANCE INFOTECH LIMITED Scan to download it TEL:+86-571-87245207 EMAIL: agropages@vip.163.com TOP SPONSOR 立华国际 Sino-Agri Leading: Providing a value-added supply chain platform for the global crop protection market Prohexadione calcium: A novel environmental plant growth retardant Pesticide prices ease and production capacity structure further adjusts: Insights of the fundamentals of China’s pesticide market in 2022 The prohexadione calcium produced in China is very popularity among pesticide buyers from around the world, due to China’s large production capacity, high product quality and moderate prices. In 2022, the biggest fluctuation in the pesticide market was the sharp decline in pesticide prices, with more than 50% of pesticide varieties experiencing price drops year-on-year, which not only brought them back to the rational range, but also partly showed the effect of the gradual restoration of market production capacity. Cover Story P16 P20 Company Spotlight Industry Watch AgroPages exclusively interviewed SU Yi (Board Chairman and General Manager of SAL), who explained Sino-Agri Leading’s strategic advantages, business approach and emerging focus on international markets. P10

Showcase of China’s “Specialized and  Novel” crop protection products/ technologies/applications P48 P52 P54 P56 P64 P62 P66 P68 P72 P74 P76 Feature Analysis of 2022 business operation of Chinese listed pesticide companies: Herbicide a primary growth driver Lansheng Biotech: Green chemical innovation drives fine chemical production to reach a new level Eastlake High-Tech: Application of microreaction, continuous flow technologies to improve quality of plant growth regulators Qilu, industry leader of high quality spinosad KingAgroot – Innovative flagship integrating compound creation and biotechnical breeding Yonon: Production of L-glufosinate on multienzyme CAC Nantong: cyproflanilide, a created novel insecticide with unique action mechanism Lier Chemical: 20,000-ton L-glufosinate production capacity to start running soon Red Sun: Diquat dichloride aims to create new burndown herbicide market trend Fosetyl-aluminium: Focusing on European wine grape market, Limin’s product concept upgraded Pilarbio: Working imaginatively on CS – an innovative cutting-edge formulation Chengdu New Sun: Making breakthroughs in industrialized application of plant growth regulation coronatine, first time in the world Blind expansion or a new business layout? Observations of pesticide and intermediate project launches in China’s major chemical parks from 2020 to 2022 We present research and analysis of the 78 financial reports of 26 listed pesticide companies, having sorted out their key businesses, significant revenues and development directions in 2022. This article uses the pesticide and intermediate projects launched in China’s major chemical parks from 2020 to 2022, starting with a brief presentation of China’s new capacity and industrial chain extension, followed by analysis of the industrial chain advantages of the “Made in China” agrochemicals. In this feature, we have selected 11 Chinese pesticide companies to represent Chinese pesticide enterprise’s research and development achievements of new products, breakthroughs in technical innovation, upgrading of type of formulations and continued exploration of applications. P28 P40 P46 Sponsor

Gold Sponsor • Sino-Agri Leading Biosciences Co,.Ltd. Advertiser Index • Beijing Bioseen Crop Sciences Co., Ltd. • Beijing Multigrass Formulation Co., Ltd. • Chico Crop Science Co.,Ltd • China Jiangsu International Economic Technical Cooperation Group.,Ltd. Overseas Imp.&Exp. Company • Fortune Group - Hebei Bestar Industry Co.,Ltd • Hailir Pesticides and Chemicals Group Co., Ltd. • Hebei Xingbai Agricultural Technology Co.,Ltd. • IPROCHEM CO.,LTD. • Jiangsu Sword Agrochemicals Co., Ltd. • JiangSu YongKai Chem Co., Ltd • Jiangyin Milagro Chemical Co.,Ltd • JIANGYIN SULI CHEMICAL CO., LTD. • King Tech Corporation • Limin Group Co., Ltd. • NINGBO RALISION CHEMICAL CO.,LTD • Ningxia Taiyicin Biotech Co., Ltd. • P.Chemitech Co., Ltd. • Qilu Pharmaceutical (Inner Mongolia) Co., Ltd. • Shandong Huimeng Biotech Co., Ltd. • Shandong Kangqiao Bio-technology Co., Ltd. • Shandong Weifang Rainbow Chemical Co., Ltd. • Shanghai IPRO-DVA Inspection Technology Co., LTD • Shenzhen Baocheng Chemical Industry CO.,LTD. • Sichuan Leshan Fuhua Tongda Agro-chemical Technology Co., Ltd. • Sunong(Guangde)Biotechnology Co.,Ltd. • TrustChem Co., Ltd. • Yifan Biotechnology Group Co., Ltd. • Zhejiang Runhe Chemical New Material Co.,Ltd • Zhejiang Zhongshan Chemical Industry Group Co., Ltd. P27 P89 P51 P61 P2 P4 P15 Back Cover P84 P136 P79 P88 P97 P71 P26 P103 P9 P1 Inside Back Cover P70 P3 P67 P45 Inside Front Cover P38-39 P85 P60 P37 P8 Advertisers Fluorine pesticide intermediates: The linkage in the industrial chain P86 P90 P94 Feature Philanthropic List Company Showcase Philanthropic deeds list of Chinese agrochemical companies Sinochem Lantian: Exploringintoaliphatic fluorine industry chain Huimeng Biotech: Digging into fluorinated pyridine industry chain value Zhejiang Yongtai Technology: Shaping a fluorine-containing fine aromatic industry Upstream fluorinated intermediates have become a key factor which dominates the downstream fluorinecontaining pesticide supply, cost and stability of products. P98 P80 P104 And More Disclaimer: If some advertisements and product profiles in this issue contain references to active ingredients still under patent protection in certain countries, such content are deemed inapplicable to those countries.

Leading Crop Protection Solution Provider in Thailand/ASEAN Over 53 years of heritage with farmers High-standard factory with 3 ISO (ISO9001;ISO14001;ISO17025) Leader and first plant formulation in Thailand for Glyphosate and 2,4-D R&D center for product development and registration Business coverage Thailand/ASEAN to focus on pesticide and Ag-Innovation for all crops

10 China Pesticide Industry Watch COVER STORY SU Yi, Chairman and General Manager of SAL Exclusive interview with SU Yi, Board Chairman and General Manager of Sino-Agri Leading China’s national general program aims to secure China’s food supplies and promote rural revitalization. This program has provided the foundation and guidance for the rapid development of agriculture and the resultant growth of the agri-inputs market. The industry growth continued despite challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic demonstrating the resilience of agriculture and the agri-inputs business in China. Sino-Agri Leading Biosciences Co., Ltd. (SAL) has been at the forefront in distribution of agri-inputs for the domestic Chinese market. An extensive countrywide sales network, a “one-stop” supply platform and continuous improvement in product offerings and services, has enabled SAL to rapidly develop and establish a leading position in the industry. Leveraging on its strong domestic resource integration capability, SAL is looking to address emerging opportunities in international markets with a strong growth momentum. As an observer of international agrochemical industry trends and enterprise development, AgroPages exclusively interviewed SU Yi (Board Chairman and General Manager of SAL), who explained SAL’s strategic advantages, business approach and emerging focus on international markets. This should enable global crop protection industry to get a balanced view of the company. Sino-Agri Leading: Providing a value-added supply chain platform for the global crop protection market

China Pesticide Industry Watch 11 COVER STORY SAL: The “national team” of agricultural materials distribution in China Established in 2009, SAL is a large agricultural material distribution company under the umbrella of the All China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives (China CO-OP). China National Agricultural Means of Production Group Corporation (Sino-Agri Group) is the largest shareholder of SAL with a 50.25% stake. As a key national agricultural support provider, SAL implements projects that benefit farmers such as ensuring reserves of pesticides for national disaster relief, creating a “Modern Distribution Service Network Project in New Rural Areas” and piloting a new agricultural socialization service system. In 2017, SAL was listed on the A-share capital market, becoming the only listed agricultural materials distribution platform under China CO-OP. SAL specializes in ● Agrochemical distribution ● Providing technical services for crop protection, and ● Supply of machinery for crop protection As part of this, SAL sells technical pesticides, their formulations and related products while providing growers crop health solutions, technical guidance and product application demonstrations. SAL on an average conducts more than 10,000 technical training sessions every year thereby serving about 8 million farmers. SAL has structured its activities through six verticals which include ● International business ● Joint Sales business ● Chemical material trade business ● Crop health business (domestic brand distribution business) ● Formulating and repacking business ● Crop protection machinery In recent years, despite the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic which disrupted global supply chains, SAL has maintained its rapid growth with operating revenues growing at a compounded growth rate (CAGR) of 26% from RMB 3.50 billion in 2017 to RMB 8.82 billion in 2021 and in terms of sales revenue is ranked fourth in China’s crop protection industry. In the first three quarters of 2022, SAL’s operating revenue reached RMB 9.684 billion, up 29.56% year on year and annual revenue for 2022 is expected to exceed RMB 10 billion. Having a large, robust product distribution and service system in China is not the only reason for SAL’s strong growth and development. Since 2019, the company has been integrating resources from different parties to vigorously develop its international business, bringing new growth momentum to SAL. Sino-Agri Leading International: Integrating external resources for rapid global penetration SAL established its International Business Segment (“Sino-Agri Leading International”) in 2011, and actively applied for overseas pesticide registration and in 2014 set up Sino-Agri Leading (Shanghai) to facilitate international trade. From The 2014 to 2018 Sino-Agri Leading (Shanghai) expanded presence in international market by establishing six overseas subsidiaries in Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Dominica and Singapore. It worked on a business model for international market operations, with footprints in over 90 countries spanning South America, Africa, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Europe. In 2019, in response to the increasing demand for quality agri-inputs in overseas markets, SAL made an important strategic decision to grow its international business, by establishing a new joint venture with Nanjing Red Sun Co., Ltd. (Red Sun), under the name Sino-Agri Red Sun Bio-technology Co. Ltd. (“Sino-Agri Red Sun”). This became a new platform company with the cross-border supply chain of green pesticides as its main business. And now, a more comprehensive structure has been created by SAL’s International Business Segment. International Business Organization Chart Sino-Agri Red Sun SAL Argentina SAL Columbia SAL Ecuador SAL Peru Sal Dominica Sal Singapore Sino-Agri Leading Sino-Agri Leading International

12 China Pesticide Industry Watch COVER STORY At present, the main operational entity of SAL’s international business segment is Sino-Agri Leading International, under which there are Sino-Agri Red Sun and six overseas subsidiaries in Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Dominica and Singapore. Relying on the product resources of SAL, Red Sun and external investors, Sino-Agri Leading International integrates the global registration resources of SinoAgri Leading (Shanghai) and Red Sun, as well as their channel resources in South America, Asia Pacific, North America, Europe and Africa. Supported by an operations team with excellent professional capabilities and shared management philosophy, Sino-Agri Leading International is rapidly advancing its global market presence, to provide international customers with cost-effective agrochemical products together with reliable and efficient services. At present Sino-Agri Leading International’s business is mainly concentrated among large multinational customers and in markets of Latin America, North America, Asia Pacific, Africa and Eastern Europe. The top countries in terms of sales include globally important agricultural markets, such as Brazil, Argentina, the US and Russia, as well as regions with promising potential, such as Nigeria, Australia, Colombia, Paraguay, India and Indonesia. Sino-Agri Leading International has adopted different business models to enter the market, based on various regional characteristics. In Eastern Europe, North America, Africa and Asia-Pacific, Sino-Agri Leading International has relationships with regional or local importers of different sizes by supporting the registration of technicals and formulated products. In South America and Central America markets, Sino-Agri Leading International is mainly providing registration support while licensing its approved registrations to importers and distributors, to tap into overseas sales of products which are independently registered by Sino-Agri Leading International. By fully integrating its internal and external resources, Sino-Agri Leading International is able to offer its own unique competitive advantages in the following five areas: Product Portfolio: The company has a portfolio of more than 254 high-quality products for the herbicide, fungicide and insecticide segments. There are four core products with sales exceeding RMB100 million. Its nonselective herbicides are very competitive and have enabled the company achieve a leading market share. Its sales of Paraquat alone accounts for around a third of China’s exports. Market access: Since 2014, Sino-Agri Leading International started to register products independently in 16 countries. At present, the company holds nearly 1,500 overseas pesticide product registrations, of which about 15% are independent registrations. In Brazil, where registration standards are rigorous and the market potential is large, Sino-Agri Leading International has more than 30 independent registrations, including over 10 formulation registrations and more than 60 ongoing product registrations. This should enable the rapid opening up of this key market with significant first-mover advantage. Customer Relationships: Sino-Agri Leading International has established long-term cooperative relationships with nearly 400 strategic partners in more than 90 countries across five continents, giving it large and stable customer base. The company is committed Huang Baiji (third from right), SAL’s executive deputy general manager, Adrienne Chang (fourth from left), Sino-Agri Leading International’s general manager, and team members are communicating with overseas customers at the exhibition

China Pesticide Industry Watch 13 COVER STORY to being an effective procurement and sales channel for customers with a deep understanding customers’ demands for product quality and distribution. By using its accurate understanding of markets and industry trends along with sound judgement, it hopes to optimize its supply chain services and build on trust and loyalty of customers. Service: Sino-Agri Leading International has an application technology R&D and testing center and a crop protection technical service team comprising hundreds of experts. The company has accumulated practical experience in crop solutions, and is capable of providing timely and efficient technical support in formulation development, according to customers’ requirements. The team can provide strong background support for formulation technology, innovation and quality control to its international customers. Professional and Dedicated Team: Adrienne Chang (General Manager of Sino-Agri Leading International) is a business leader who has more than 18 years of experience in international market development and pesticide sales. Members of her team have professional backgrounds in foreign languages, crop protection, and the chemical industry, as well as related international business development experience, knowledge of overseas registration laws and regulations, distribution channels. They have a sound understanding of customer needs together with strong resource integration capabilities. Based on the above advantages, from 2020 to 2022, the sales of Sino-Agri Leading International grew rapidly at an annual rate of over 45%, accounting for about onethird of SAL’s total revenue. In 2021, the company ranked ninth in terms of value among Chinese pesticide export enterprises. Becoming a value-added global supply chain platform for agricultural crop protection market The global impact of the energy and food crisis caused by local political and military conflicts still lingers. In China, the three-year COVID-19 pandemic has ended, and China’s production and manufacturing need to create a brand-new image in the international market and regain global confidence in its supply chain. During this turbulent period full of challenges and opportunities, SAL will strengthen the integration of products, capital, technology, channels, brands and other resources, as well as make appropriate plans for addressing all aspects, be it supplies, markets, risk prevention and control, and strive to seize development opportunities and showcase an outstanding Chinese brand. At the supply side, SAL will further strengthen the development of product resources and enhance its cooperation with leading bulk product manufacturers, innovative manufacturing companies, formulation R&D, processing and repacking companies, and players with industrial chain advantages, as well as establish a sound supplier entry, evaluation, audit and risk control management system. It will integrate the product resources of leading domestic herbicide manufacturers, including paraquat, diquat, glyphosate, glufosinate and L-glufosinate, and strive to build the largest international supply platform for non-selective herbicides. SAL will also expand its service scope with its channel partners. In addition to providing high-quality pesticide products, SAL will offer professional crop protection technical services, comprehensive planting services, and famous and excellent agricultural product creation services. At the end of the market, SAL will continue to strengthen its long-term strategic partnership with TierII customers, while exploring innovative models of independent brand sales and technical services in regional markets, with its unique resource advantages. Meanwhile, SAL will leverage the sales network advantages of SinoAgri Leading International, to help domestic producers expand their international sales channels and pioneer sales of new Chinese compounds in overseas markets. Chinese agriculture has many good opportunities created by policies, such as the approval of the commercial cultivation of GM seeds. The seed industry is a strategic industry in China, and seeds are considered the “chips” of agricultural production. As a leading agri-inputs supplier in China, SAL’s strategic move to invest in Sino-Agri Seed Holding Co., Ltd. will further support the extension of its industry chain and realize the synergistic development of “seeds + pesticides,” therefore, driving the development of the company’s business. By steadily moving forward on medium- and long-term development trends, SAL aims to become a value-added global supply chain platform for the agricultural crop protection market, empowering upstream and downstream customers through the integration of products, capital, technology, channels, brands and other resources, and collaborating with the global crop protection industry for an ecological win-win. In 2023, in light of the rapid development of its international business, SAL will upgrade and refresh the overall brand of Sino-Agri Leading International. On March 20, 2023, at the Hangzhou International Expo coinciding with AgroChemEx 2023, SINO-AGRI Renewed Brand Unveiling Ceremony is scheduled to be launched. This will present and explain the new brand strategy and visual image of Sino-Agri Leading International to global participants in agriculture, and highlight its philosophy and aspirations. SAL will warmly welcome friends from the industry and all walks of life to witness this transformation. Editor: Mickey Shan, AgroPages AP

16 China Pesticide Industry Watch Prohexadione calcium: umiai Chemical was granted a patent (JP 83 71264) in 1983 for prohexadione calcium, which was developed and commercialized jointly with BASF. Because of its low toxicity, low residue, and rapid photodegradation and biodegradable qualities in the environment, the product was rated by USEPA as a low-risk agent. Currently, three companies have been granted registrations for prohexadione calcium technical in China, with Zhengzhou Zhengshi Chemical having the highest product content at 92%, with an annual production capacity of 1,000 tons. The prohexadione calcium produced in China is very popularity among pesticide buyers from around the world, due to China’s large production capacity, high product quality and moderate prices. As a novel plant growth regulator, the major degradants in the environment are carbon dioxide and water. Compared with traditional quaternary ammonium salts and triazole retardants, prohexadione calcium is safer and more environmentallyfriendly, being widely used on apple and cherry crops, with minimal impact on flowers and fruits. 1.Plant growth retardants and their action mode Plant growth retardants include quaternary ammonium salts (chlormequat chloride and mepigtlat-chloride), triazoles (paclobutrazol and uniconazole) and cyelohexanecarboxylic acids (prohexadione calcium and trinexapac-ethyl), which can all inhibit the biosynthesis of gibberellin. However, their action sites are different. For example, chlormequat chloride and mepigtlat-chloride affect the synthesis of GGPP entkaurene, the precursor of gibberellin, while paclobutrazol and uniconazole have an impact on kaurene oxidase (KO) - ent-kaurene reaction – entkaurenic acid. The action site of prohexadione calcium appears at a later stage, mainly affecting the conversion from GA20 to GA1 and not significantly effecting GA4 and GA7, therefore, controlling the excessive growth of plants to increase yields. A novel environmental plant growth retardant Figure 1 Gibberellic acid biosynthesis and plant growth retardant action mechanism (Salazar-Cerezo, etc.) 16 Annual Review 2022 K COMPANY SPOTLIGHT

China Pesticide Industry Watch 17 COMPANY SPOTLIGHT red and there are 80% blossoms, the average incidence of fire blight at the flowering stage is below 27%, compared with 71%, while the incidence of tip or branch fire blight is below 13%, compared with at 77%. The pre-bloom application of prohexadione calcium can thicken the parenchyma cells of the pedicel of young fruits, helping resist bacterial infections in tissues. During the vigorous growth of branches of Fuji apple trees, the use of prohexadione calcium at 300mg/ L offers optimum results, such as promoting the growth of new branches, inhibiting of the growth of excessive branches, and improving chlorophyll content, fruit quality and fruit shape, as well as fruit glossiness. Zhengshi Chemical’s prohexadione calcium technical 92% can be sprayed on apple trees after the blossom at concentration of 200 to 400mg/L, to be applied three times and each at an interval 2.Comparative analysis of different plant growth retardants Paclobutrazol has a good effect of control of excessive growth, but its physiochemical property is stable and, therefore, degrades slowly (DT50, being approximately 40.5-46d in the soil), which affects next-stubble crops. Therefore, paclobutrazol is limited for use on only non-food crops in the US, the EU and Canada. Prohexadione calcium has apparent advantages and future prospects for broad applications on food crops and commercial crops, being more environmentally-friendly and suitable for advancing ecological agriculture. Hence, prohexadione calcium is an ideal substitute for triazole retardants. 3.Applications of prohexadione calcium 1)Application of prohexadione calcium on apple trees The growth of Gala apple trees fully sprayed with 123mg/L prohexadione calcium alone is 21% to 45% less in volume than untreated trees. When prohexadione calcium is applied at 62.5mg/L and 125mg/ L when flower buds have become Table 1 Differences between different plant growth retardants Category Product Half-life Use Safety Mepigtlat-chloride Prohexadione calcium Paclobutrazol Mepigtlat-chloride Uniconazole 8d under moderate temperatures 1-4d in soil, low toxic 46d in field cropland; 40.5d indoor 8d under moderate temperatures 16d in field cropland; 107d indoor Cotton and fruit trees Apples and vegetables Most crops Cotton and fruit trees Most crops Higher levels of use may cause excessive inhabiting Safe, residue-free, capable of controlling excessive growth and increase the yield Longer residual period may cause premature failure, affecting next-stubble crop Higher levels of use may cause excessive inhabiting Shorter residual period may cause premature failure Quaternary ammonium Cyelohexanecarboxylic acids Triazoles

18 China Pesticide Industry Watch COMPANY SPOTLIGHT of around 10 days. Therefore, the excessive growth of branches can be controlled at an inhibition rate of 20%, while flower buds are differentiated without affecting the regular growth of fruits. 2)Application of prohexadione calcium on paddy rice When prohexadione calcium 92% is foliar sprayed once at a concentration of 200 to 400mg/L on paddy rice (Variety Liangyou 302) before jointing at the later stage of tillering, root mass increases significantly; water and fertilizers are Prohexadione calcium (zero day) Prohexadione calcium (23 days) Figure 2 Volume of growth of Fuji tree branches applied three times with prohexadione calcium Control (zero day) 12 days after use 12 days: control 26 days after use 26 days: control Control (23 days) better absorbed; stem height is lowered by 10cm, which enhances lodging-resistance capacity; and the rice yield increases by 120 to 130 kg per mu ( 1 mu = 1/15 hectare). 4.Novel product for increasing yield - Zhengshi Chemical’s prohexadione calcium Zhengshi Chemical began the research and development of prohexadione calcium in 2006. After years of serious work, the company has successfully developed its high-content prohexadione calcium technical 92%, which has been granted full registration. The product research program won the second prize of the Henan Provincial Science & Technology Advancement Award in 2010. After completing its research of prohexadione calcium technical and attaining a production capacity of 1,000-tons, Zhengshi Chemical registered its prohexadione calcium formulations and mixtures. Zhengshi Chemical’s research in the application of prohexadione calcium to more than 20 crops, including apple, grape, cherry, strawberry, wheat, peanut and rice, resulted in the remarkable effects of regulating plant growth, facilitating flowering, and increasing quality and yield. The company is prepared to fully utilize its prohexadione calcium formula to increase the quality and yield increase global farming, as well as promote the green and sound development of global agriculture. AP

China Pesticide Industry Watch 19 COMPANY SPOTLIGHT (1). Shinjiro Yamaguchi. Gibberellin Metabolism and its Regulation. Annu. Rev. Plant Biol, 2008, 59:225–51. (2). Sonia Salazar-Cerezo, Nancy Martínez-Montie, et al. Gibberellin biosynthesis and metabolism: A convergent route for plants, fungi and bacteria. Microbiological Research, 2018,208: 85–98 (3). Cline, John. Interactive effects of 6-BA, GA4+7 and prohexadione-calcium on ‘Gala’ apples [J]. Canadian Journal of Plant Science, 1918: CJPS-2016-0314. (4). Wallis AE, Cox KD. Management of Fire Blight Using Pre-bloom Application of Prohexadione-Calcium. Plant Dis. 2020 Apr;104(4):1048-1054. (5). Liu Li, Gao Dengfeng and Wei Zhifeng . Effects of Prohexadione Calcium tunicylate on growth and fruit quality of Fuji Apple[J]. Journal of Fruit Science, 2021, 38(7):8. Prohexadione Calcium Workshop Zhengshi Chemical’s prohexadione calcium technical 92% registration certificate REFERENCES

INDUSTRY WATCH 20 China Pesticide Industry Watch Pesticide prices ease and production capacity structure further adjusts -- Insights of the fundamentals of China’s pesticide market in 2022 By Mickey Shan Editor of AgroPages mickey@agropages.com n 2022, the ongoing RussianUkrainian conflict caused energy and food crises around the world and stunted the growth of almost all economies worldwide. China gradually liberated itself from the most severe COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns and welcomed the opening of its whole society at the end of the year. Although the economy also declined due to the locking down of cities and ports, as well as stoppages or suspensions of work and production, China’s agricultural market generally remained stable due to the consistent demand for food. The pesticide industry continued to maintain its momentum of steady growth, with a slight reduction in production but rising economic scale and efficiency of companies. Pesticide exports also regained their normal level in the second half of the year. In 2022, the biggest fluctuation in the pesticide market was the sharp decline in pesticide prices, with more than 50% of pesticide varieties experiencing price drops year-on-year, which not only brought them back to the rational range, but also partly showed the effect of the gradual restoration of market production capacity. Policy: Further promote the merger and reorganization of enterprises; non-selective herbicide market to embrace explosive growth The 14th Five-Year Plan period began in the first five years after China achieved its first centennial goal and started a new journey of building a modern socialist country in a comprehensive manner. In February 2022, the Pesticide Industry Development Program under the National 14th Five-Year Plan (hereinafter referred to as the “Program”) was officially released, and has a programmatic and important guiding significance for the development of the industry. According to the Program, by 2025, the pesticide industry system should be more complete, the industrial structure more reasonable, the support for agricultural production should be further developed, and the green, high-quality development of the industry should be constantly improved. According to the Program, production should be planned to promote pesticide industry mergers, restructuring, transformation and upgrading to foster larger, stronger and more competitive pesticide manufacturers. By 2025, efforts will be made to cultivate 10 enterprises with a business volume of more RMB5 billion, 50 enterprises with a business volume of over RMB1 billion, and 100 enterprises with business volume of above RMB500 million, while the business volume of pesticide manufacturers in industrial parks will be increased by 10%. These goals will be gradually achieved. The Program requires those concerned to vigorously promote the application of green prevention and I

INDUSTRY WATCH China Pesticide Industry Watch 21 control technologies, such as biological control, while focusing on the development of specialist unified prevention and control services, and continuously improving pesticide utilization efficiency. By 2025, the coverage rate of the three major food crops by unified prevention and control initiative will reach 45%. Meanwhile, efforts to reduce the use of chemical pesticides will continue. The biological plant protection market is expected to see more intensive favorable policies and enter a period of rapid development. In recent years, China has closely managed chemical pollution and safety. According to its “14th FiveYear Plan” for the pesticide industry, the country will further optimize production layout, increase efforts in the withdrawal of high-risk, highpollution production capacity, and control excess capacity. In the country’s eastern coastal areas, authorities plan to stabilize the development of pesticides in chemical parks, moderately expand their scale through utilizing their advantages, highlight the importance of the innovation and production of chemical pesticides, and phase out outdated production capacity. The central and western regions require more comprehensive assessments of pesticide projects for chemical parks and stricter controls of the issuance of licenses. In these regions, priority will be given to biopesticide development and chemical pesticide formulation, while pesticide technicals (TCs) will be moderately developed. In the Yangtze River Economic Belt that has the Yellow River Basin, with its environmentally sensitive major rivers and lakes, newbuild pesticide production projects will be strictly controlled. GM breeding technology and its industry have now entered a strategic opportunity period, with the goal of utilizing technological advantages and periods of economic growth. The vigorous development of GM technology will become key to enhancing the competitiveness of Chinese seed companies and will also bring major changes to the subsequent pesticide market. In 2021, China achieved historic progress in the industrialization trials of GM crops, with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA) conducting industrialization pilots for herbicidetolerant GM soybeans and insectresistant, herbicide-tolerant GM corn, which obtained safety certificates for production applications. Subsequently, the registration of target herbicides for herbicide-resistant GM corn and soybean began. In February 2022, MARA successively issued guidelines for field efficacy trials related to controlling weeds with herbicides in herbicide-tolerant GM corn and soybean fields, as well as registration data requirements for target herbicides for herbicide-tolerant GM crops, providing a legal basis for the registration of target herbicides for herbicide-tolerant GM corns and soybeans. From 2026, the commercial planting of GM soybean in China is expected to develop rapidly and is estimated to increase by 8% to 10% annually, with a coverage rate of 50% to 60%. For herbicides, it is predicated that by 2030, the amount of glyphosate used in soybeans in China will increase by 500% to 800% from 2021, as well as glufosinate-ammonium. Production capacity: New projects in Northwest China reached peak, intermediates projects also rising According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the production of chemical pesticides in China began to decline gradually from the peak output of over 3.7 million tons in 2014-2016 to 2.083 million tons in 2018. Afterwards, the industry supply gradually improved and recovered, and pesticide output reached 2.498 million tons in 2021. In 2022, affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the growth of pesticide production in China stagnated again, and adjustments to production capacity structure could be a contributing factor (Fig.1). From January to November, 2022, China’s pesticide output was 2.296 million tons, with a cumulative decline of 1.8% year-onyear (Fig.2). The top three provinces in terms of the production of chemical pesticide TCs in China were Jiangsu, Shandong and Sichuan. Pesticide production projects under construction in Hubei, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Gansu and other provinces were at historically high levels, and capacity transfer output is being expanded.

INDUSTRY WATCH 22 China Pesticide Industry Watch In recent years, there has been increasingly closer industrial connections between downstream products and upstream intermediates, which is reflected by the construction of pesticide projects or the prices of pesticides. Pesticide intermediates guarantee the rapid development of pesticide TCs and formulation industry at the complete industry chain level. The expiration of a large number of new pesticide patents, as well as the adjustment of pesticide structures and agricultural protection policies, will drive the growth of the market and promote the development of pesticide intermediates industry. According to ASKCI, the production of pesticide intermediates in China is expected to reach 5.3 million tons in 2022 (Fig.3). Price: Over half of pesticide varieties fell year-on-year back to the rational range In 2022, due to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the price of oil, natural gas and other energy sources rose sharply, followed by the prices of raw materials of bulk basic chemicals, leading to the considerable decline in the operating profits of chemical companies. However, pesticide prices in China experienced a fall instead of an increase, coming down from last year’s overall high levels. This is mainly because the agrochemical industry, in 2022, was still in a recovery phase from the impact of energy and consumption control in 2021, and the agrochemical capacity construction period since 2017 has ended and production capacity gradually recovered. In addition, after the unusual procurement and hoarding during the past two years, inventories foreign markets needed to be drew down and demand weakened. These factors, coupled with the reduction of market speculation, helped drive prices back down to the rational range. According to SINO-AGRI LEADING, one of the largest

INDUSTRY WATCH China Pesticide Industry Watch 23 agricultural platforms in China, in 2022, the price of over 50% of pesticide varieties fell year-on-year, with an overall decline of 20% to 30%, with some products slumping by 50%. The price of terminal formulations of non-selective herbicides kept hitting new lows, resulting in insufficient support for TCs. At the end of the year, the prices of terminal formulations introduced by manufacturers hit record lows, forcing down the price of glufosinateammonium TC. This is also the inevitable result of the gradual release of glufosinate-ammonium TC production capacity. Eventually, the price of glufosinate-ammonium TC plunged by 56% in 2022, the largest drop for TC products during that year. Other herbicide varieties with a price drop of over 30% include butachlor TC (-48%), pretilachlor TC (-42%), glyphosate TC (-40%), mesotrione TC (-40%), and nicosulfuron TC (-34%). Only several herbicide varieties experienced price rises, including propisochlor TC (8%), metolachlor TC (5%), trifluralin TC (5%), and pendimethalin TC (5%) (Fig. 4). In terms of insecticides, with the gradual rise in production capacity, the prices of nicotic products decreased accordingly. The market for emamectin benzoate was greatly impacted by the expiration of the patent of chlorantraniliprole TC. The rise in the production capacity of lufenuron TC and flonicamid TC led to a high inventory level. Products with a price decrease of over 30% include acetamiprid TC (-48%), imidacloprid TC (-41%), bifenazate TC (-39%), emamectin benzoate TC (-37%), flonicamid TC (-35%), bifenthrin TC (-34%), lufenuron TC (-33%), abamectin TC (-31%), and lambda-cyhalothrin TC (-30%). Propargite TC (9%) is an old product. Because of its relatively concentrated production capacity, high upstream raw material price, and low inventories of TCs and formations, it became a rare insecticide variety with rising prices this year (Fig. 5). In terms of fungicides, there was weak demand for triazole products and considerable reduction in raw material costs. Tebuconazole TC experienced a price slump by 46% year-on-year. Strobilurin TC enjoyed a relatively concentrated production capacity and stable export channels. However, the fungicide market was generally weak, which resulted in the lack of willingness among dealers to increase stock levels and drive upstream TC manufacturers to lower the prices. Products with a price drop of over 30% include tebuconazole TC (-46%), dimethomorph TC (-35%), prochloraz TC (-33%), trifloxystrobin TC (-32%), azoxystrobin TC (-32%), and fluazinam TC (-31%). Only thifluzamide TC saw a slight rise at 3% (Fig. 6).

INDUSTRY WATCH 24 China Pesticide Industry Watch Registration: Off-patent registrations for TCs ushered in an explosive growth In 2022, the number of pesticide registrations in China decreased significantly compared to 2021. This year, there were 500 new registrations Table1. Registrations of Prothioconazole Chlorantraniliprole and L-glufosinate Registration No. Pesticide Category Concentration Registration Holder Prothioconazole Insecticide Herbicide Fungicide Chlorantra - niliprole L-glufosinate 95.0% TC 95.0% TC 96.0% TC 98.0% TC 95.0% TC 95.0% TC 95.0% TC 98.0% TC 95.0% TC 95.3% TC 90.0% TC 45.7% TK 97.0% TC 97.0% TC 96.0% TC 96.0% TC 97.0% TC 95.0% TC 94.0% TC 96.0% TC 97.0% TC 90.0% TC 40.0% TK 90.0% TC 96.5% TC Jilin Rosi Chemical Co., Ltd. Nantong ABA Chemicals Co., Ltd. Jiangsu Good Harvest-Weien Agrochemical Co., Ltd. Shandong United Pesticide Industry Co., Ltd. Ningxia Yifan Biotechnology Co., Ltd. Xiangshui Zhongshan Biotechnology Co., Ltd. CAC Nantong Chemical Co., Ltd Shandong Youdao Chemical Co., Ltd. Jiangsu Flag Chemical Industry Co., Ltd Xiangshui Zhongshan Biotechnology Co., Ltd. Weifang Xinlu Chemical Co., Ltd. Lier Chemical Co., Ltd. Nanjing Red Sun Co., Ltd. Jiangsu Agrochem Laboratory Co., Ltd. Wuxi Jiabao Pesticide & Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Shandong Ao Kun Biological Co., Ltd. Inner Mongolia Miraculous Crop Science Co., Ltd Liangning Zhonghui Biotechnology Co., Ltd. Hebei Xingbai Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd. Shandong Ao Kun Biological Co., Ltd. Synwill Yichang Chemical Co., Ltd. Zhejiang Xinan Chemical Industrial Group Co., Ltd Shandong Luba Chemical Co., Ltd Lier Chemical Co., Ltd. Lier Chemical Co., Ltd. PD20220414 PD20220398 PD20220326 PD20220259 PD20220242 PD20220238 PD20220171 PD20220286 PD20220216 PD20220049 PD20220170 PD20220420 PD20220399 PD20220333 PD20220271 PD20220251 PD20220239 PD20220228 PD20220002 PD20220310 PD20220078 PD20220368 PD20220331 PD20220089 PD20220234 in the country, accounting for only 17% of the 2,884 new registrations in the previous year, and no new active ingredients were approved this year. There were 290 new registrations of pesticide products for field crops in 2022, with the largest number of herbicides being at 96. Several pesticide TC/ TK registrations witnessed an explosive growth this year (Table 1), and the attention-grabbing ones include prothioconazole (13 TCs), chlorantraniliprole (7 TCs), and L-glufosinate (3 TCs and 2 TKs).

INDUSTRY WATCH China Pesticide Industry Watch 25 Fig. 7 Formulation type of EX registrations Fig. 8 Products of EX registrations In 2022, with the implementation of the Announcement on Matters Related to the Registration of Export-only Pesticides (EX Pesticides in short) in China and the further strengthening of policies benefiting EX pesticide manufacturers, the number of EX pesticide registrations by Chinese pesticide companies increased rapidly. This year, 192 EX pesticides were approved, and half of them were herbicides. As of February 2023, ICAMA has approved the registration of 363 EX pesticides. In terms of category, more than half, or 57.58%, are herbicides. In terms of formulation type, 41 are registered as TCs (Fig. 7). Products with more than 10 registrations include emamectin benzoate, abamectin, glufosinate-ammonium, 2,4-D-dimethylammonium, and chlorimuron-ethyl TC (Fig. 8). Exports: Increase in both volume and value The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the supply chain for three consecutive years, but China’s pesticide industry kept developing rapidly, giving its products’ competitiveness in the international market. In 2022, some pesticide varieties were in short supply due to tight energy supplies in the EU, and China’s pesticide exports filled the gap in the international market. At the same time, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs adopted corresponding policy measures to support pesticide exports, such as the implementation and further strengthening of policies related to EX pesticide registration, enabling pesticide manufacturers to export more types and formulations of products to serve local agriculture. Despite the issues seen in the first half of the year, China’s pesticide exports in 2022 increased in both volume and value overall. According to the General Administration of Customs, from January to October 2022, China exported a total of 1.918 million tons of pesticides, up 4.41%

INDUSTRY WATCH 26 China Pesticide Industry Watch year-on-year, with the export value reaching US$9.74 billion, up 56.53% year-on-year. The average unit price also increased by 49.85% year-onyear (Fig. 9). In terms of specific commodities, herbicides led other products with an export volume of 1.338 million tons, up 14.86% year-on-year, and an export value of US$6.94 billion, up 88.48% year-on-year. The main export markets for herbicides were Brazil, Australia, the United States, Nigeria, and Thailand. Ukraine, as a grain producer, was once one of the major pesticide export markets for China. Affected by Russia-Ukraine War, China’s exports of herbicides to Ukraine decreased by 46.52% from January to October 2022. The export volume of insecticides was 323,000 tons, up 2.19% yearon-year, and the export value was made the world rethink the status of China’s supply chain. After the pandemic, China’s pesticide industry as a whole must restore its international influence. Therefore, pesticide products originating in China are starting to be exported, even to high-end markets. R&Dcentered companies, including KingAgroot, CAC Group, Synda and Pilarbio, are proactively planning and exploring markets for their novel products. China’s pesticide companies commonly believe that only by intensifying efforts in innovative R&D and enhancing their independent innovation capabilities can they meet the global demand for green and sustainable agriculture. We are sure that Chinese brands will be seen everywhere in the fields of global agriculture in the future. US$1.67 billion, up 19.44% yearon-year. The main export markets were Brazil, Thailand, Bangladesh, Vietnam and Indonesia. Despite the fact that insecticide exports to a number of markets declined, exports to Brazil increased significantly by 96.4%, and prices were basically flat year-on-year. The export volume of fungicides was 108,000 tons, down 2.58% yearon-year, and the export value was US$740 million, up 14.11% year-onyear. The main export markets were Indonesia, Australia, Vietnam, Brazil and Bangladesh. Conclusion There is no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected the rapidly-developing Chinese pesticide industry, and AP

INDUSTRY WATCH China Pesticide Industry Watch 27

28 China Pesticide Industry Watch Analysis of 2022 business operation of Chinese listed pesticide companies: herbicide a primary growth driver 28 2022 Market Insight he conventional pesticide industry is a recurring feature, based on which the off-season and the peakseason sales in the pesticide industry can appear very different. The period from March to September is generally the peak season for pesticide formulation manufacturers in China, while the peak season of pesticide technical manufacturers usually comes a little earlier. According to the stipulations of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), Chinese listed companies are required to disclose the previous year’s financial reports by April 30 each year, whilst the disclosure of the third quarter report takes place from October 1 to October 31. Therefore, the first three-quarter financial report can broadly reflect the business operation for the year. In the text below, we present research and analysis of the 78 financial reports of 26 listed pesticide companies, having sorted out their key businesses, significant revenues and development directions in 2022. In addition, we have summarized the development model of these listed pesticide companies, the primary business players on the market, thus providing a valuable reference for industry trending and future development analysis to benefit all AgroPages readers who have an interest in the Chinese pesticide market. By Huang Longjian T INDUSTRY WATCH

INDUSTRY WATCH China Pesticide Industry Watch 29 List of the 26 companies (Figure 1) Revenue of the 26 companies in the first three quarters of 2022 (Figure 2) 1. An overview of the business operation of 26 listed pesticide companies in the first three quarters 1.1 List of the 26 companies Company name ZOATINNoposion Agrochemicals Cynda Chemical Fengshan Group Rainbow Chemical XinNong Chemical Guoguang Agrochemical Qianjiang Biochemical Xinan Chemical Guangxin Agrochemical Suli Chemical  Yangnong Chemical ABA Chemicals Nutrichem Company Hailir Group  Lanfeng Bio-Chemical Changqing Agrochemical Huifeng Bio Agriculture Limin Chemical Sino-Agri United Biotechnology Haili Chemical Lier Chemical Sino-Agri Leading Biosciences Jiangshan Agrochemical& Chemicals MeiBang Group Lianhe Chemical Technology Flag Chemical The 26 pesticide companies selected for analysis are listed on China’s three major stock exchanges (Shanghai, Shenzhen and Beijing), which are all primarily engaged in pesticide-related businesses. Companies with a smaller pesticide business proportion, foreign companies, and those under special treatment are not included in this analysis. 1.2 Revenue of the 26 companies In the first three quarters, three companies achieved revenue of more than RMB10 billion, namely Wynca, Yangnong Chemical and Rainbows. The revenue of these companies prevailed over all other pesticide companies in 2022. There was a significant difference between the revenue of different pesticide companies in the first three quarters of 2022 with apparent characteristics. In the second quarter, which is the high season of the pesticide industry, most companies achieved a significant increase in revenue. Of course, there have been special cases where Meibang and Yangnong Chemical began to experience a significant decline in the quarter's revenue. The revenue of Flagchem, Nutrichem and Lier Chemical in the second quarter was at the lowest level; The revenue of Lianhetec and Hunan Haili started to grow in the first quarter, which continued to grow distinctively in the coming quarters.

30 China Pesticide Industry Watch 1.3 Year-on-year revenue of the 26 companies The revenue of the 26 pesticide companies in the first three quarters of 2022 was mainly on a significant rise versus the first three quarters of 2021. As shown by the data, one can see that the business operation of pesticide companies in 2022 was excellent, revealing a positive market. However, only three companies are experiencing yearon-year revenue decline, namely Huifeng, Noposion and ABA. Specifically, Huifeng’s revenue in the first three quarters showed from the 26 companies, we came to three key queries: (1)How could Rainbow, Yangnong Chemical and Wynca already achieve more than RMB10 billion revenue in the first three quarters of 2022? (2)How could the four companies, Lier Chemical, Rainbow, Cynda and Guangxin, achieve more than 60% YOY growth in the first three quarters of 2022? (3)How could Guangxin and Jiangshan achieve more than RMB10 billion in profit in the first three quarters of 2022? 2. Two magic tools for the achievement of RMB10 billion revenue – international market and industry chain International market development and industry chain building are the two major reasons behind the 10-billion revenue achieved by the three companies - Rainbow, Yangnong Chemical and Wynca. Year-on-year revenue of the 26 companies in the first three quarters of 2022 (Figure 3) a sharp decline; ABA saw a slight decline only in the second quarter; Noposion’s revenue fell by 10% in the second and third quarters. The rest of the companies were not making increases every quarter but were increasing revenue in an individual quarter, which could make up for the decline in other quarters. A good example would be Fengshan and Limin, which experienced a slight decline in the first quarter. Qianjiang Biochemical experienced a slight decline in the second quarter. Lanfeng Biochemical and Wynca experienced a slight decline only in the third quarter, and Meibang experienced a year-on-year decline in the second and third quarters. 1.4 Profit margin of the 26 companies The profitability of the 26 pesticide companies in the first three quarters of 2022, except for Huifeng, was positive in 2022. After scrutiny and analysis of the key data of the 76 financial reports

China Pesticide Industry Watch 31 Rainbow, Yangnong Chemical and Wynca have already stayed on the top five exporter list for years. Rainbow ranked first in pesticide exports for four consecutive years, Yangnong Chemical classified second for three straight years, and Wynca ascended to third place in 2021. Although Wynca, Yangnong Chemical, and Rainbow are all paying much attention to the international market, there is a difference in operations between the three companies. Wynca adopts a traditional business model, which sells pesticide technical and formulation to the partners of cooperation in the target country. The partners would file for a local license and resell products to local growers. The primary business model of Rainbow combines traditional exportation with overseas selfregistration to open up the target market quickly. Rainbow would set up its work team to develop the B2C business using its brand image; and cooperate with partners in the target country in B2B business development as appropriate, depending on its product advantages in the pesticide market of the target country. The business model of Yangnong Chemical is similar to that of Rainbow, combining traditional exportation and overseas selfregistration. However, Yangnong Chemical relies on the channel resources of multinationals such as Syngenta and ADAMA for overseas self-registration. How could Rainbow, ranking first in exportation with innovative business operations, be overtaken by Wynca and Yangnong Chemical in the quarterly revenue? This points to the difference between the second Profit margin of the 26 companies in the first three quarters of 2022 (Figure 4) Top 5 Chinese pesticide exporters from 2018 to 2021 (Table 1) Rank Company name Company name Company name Company name 1 Rainbow Chemical Rainbow Chemical Rainbow Chemical Rainbow Chemical Nutrichem Company Fuhua Tongda Yangnong Chemical Xinan Chemical Yangnong Chemical Fuhua Tongda Nutrichem Company Jiangsu International Economic Technical Cooperation Yangnong Chemical Fuhua Tongda Nutrichem Company Xinan Chemical Yangnong Chemical Group Fuhua Tongda Xinan Chemical  Nutrichem Company  2 4 3 5

INDUSTRY WATCH 32 China Pesticide Industry Watch magic tool, the industry chain deployment of the three companies. These three companies possess their complete industry chain, having also deeply involved themselves in all links of the industry chain to create incomes from each link. Rainbow undertakes R&D and manufacturing of technical and formulations, having extended businesses toward brand operation, channel operation, sales and service in the global market, thus building up a complete industry chain from factory to farm. Wynca has formed an “intermediates-technicalsformulations” integrated business model, which covers the complete crop protection system, including seedlings, herbicides, insecticides, fungicides and crop nutrition. Yangnong Chemical separates the sale of technicals from the sale of formulations, where the sale of technicals mainly targets downstream formulators, while the sale of formulation targets terminal distribution and users. The company owns nearly 70 technical varieties, covering insecticides, herbicides, fungicides and plant growth regulators. Among them, the advantage of Wynca lies in its capability to manufacture intermediates, which are not only used in the field of pesticides. The organosilicon, one of Wynca’s intermediate products, is distributed in the pesticide industry as a pesticide adjuvant but can also be used in 5G communication, photovoltaic energy, rail transit, automobile, electric power, medical and health and construction industries. Wynca’s revenue from organosilicon-related products was RMB4.445 billion, a year-on-year increase of 36%. Pyrethroid is a superior product of Yangnong Chemical, running at the top of the pesticide industry in respect of pyrethroid product operation, enjoying the name of the “single product champion” in the manufacturing industry in China. At present, Yangnong Chemical is the only manufacturer of pyrethroid technical, from basic chemical raw materials, up to synthesizing of intermediates. The key intermediates of the company’s pyrethroid products are self-sustained and supported by a complete system that ensures full utilization of the company's resources. 3. Herbicide growth is a key factor Herbicide is the largest pesticide product variety in the global market. According to Business Research Company research report, the global herbicide market grew from $30.75 billion in 2021 to $33.83 billion in 2022, at a CAGR of 10.0%. By 2026, the herbicide market is expected to grow to $47.93 billion, at a CAGR of 9.1%. Up until the end of 2026, North America will still be a primary herbicide consumption market, while the Asia-Pacific market is expected later to overtake North America at a CAGR of 6.5% to become the fastest-growing herbicide market. Rainbow has covered all product types, but its herbicide business accounts for 80% of its main businesses. In 2022, Rainbow spent over RMB600 million on herbicide capacity increase, having spent 50% of its total fundraising. Two more projects, for a capacity increase of 100,000 tons, have been included in the financial report and approved at the shareholders’ meeting on July 15. Guangxin’s main herbicide products include diuron and glyphosate, having established long-term and stable cooperation with many well-known customers at home and abroad, including DuPont, FMC, SODA and Rainbow. In 2022, Guangxin implemented an annual 8,000-ton diuron technical project and an annual 48,000-ton phosgene project. Phosgene is used widely in the field of pesticides. Its downstream products include chloroformate, isocyanate acid chloride covering three major fields: fungicides, herbicides and insecticides. Cynda’s dominant products include clethodim, clomazone, imazethapyr and imazapyr acid. In the first half of 2022, the Phase I and Phase II clethodim series of Cynda Liaoning was successfully brought to production. At present, the Phase III of the project is under construction, which is expected to start trial production within this year. The procedure and construction preparation for the Phase V of the project is progressing steadily. Next to Dow AgroSciences, Lier Chemical is the world’s second manufacturer with a full command of the cyanopyridine chlorination technology. It has developed clopyralid, picloram, fluroxypyr and triclopyr which are herbicides under chloropyridines series. So far, the company is the largest chloropyridine-based herbicide research, development and production base in China, as well as the largest glufosinate technical manufacturer in China. In 2022, Lier Chemical spent RMB20 million, an increase of 2,400 tons of herbicide capacity. 4. To achieve higher profitability via development of low-toxic and environment-friendly products, supported by strengthened technical innovation In 2022, the reemergence of COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine War led to the recovery of the global farm product market, driving the positive growth of pesticide demand. Despite the impact of the reemergence of COVID-19, energy consumption control and pollution control, the pesticide supply capacity has increased. Backed up by its phosgene resources, product volume and integrated industry chain advantages, Guangxin has adhered to the principle of “work safety first, environmental protection foremost, innovation and product quality as the cornerstone.” It has adapted to

INDUSTRY WATCH China Pesticide Industry Watch 33 the market change to broaden the company's business fields to achieve a cost decrease and benefit increase via fast production and sale. Guangxin has now grown into one of China’s major production bases for bulk fungicides carbendazim and thiophanate-methyl, being one of the few Chinese manufacturers that master the diuron synthesis technology. At present, the company has independently developed and mastered several product upgrading and extended production technologies, such as DAP/HAP impurity control technology, thiocyanation reaction technology, having authorized several patents. Jiangshan has made precision business deployment according to product characteristics. After it put the flame retardant and diazinon projects into production, the new products were marketed and sold as planned. On the other hand, the leading role of the company’s amide herbicide, dipterex and DDVP is fully utilized, guiding a coordinated market development and directional movement. Jiangshan is continuing expansion of the proportion of glyphosate formulations, which help to improve the overall profitability of the company. Jiangshan has been increasing investment in green and efficient crop protection, new material, smart and digital transformative development, having made breakthroughs in strategic development. In addition, Jiangshan has strengthened its innovation capability as driven by science and technology, stressing the R&D strategy of “focusing on collaborative creation and supplemented by proprietary generic products.” In 2022, nine patents were filed. 5. Annual financing and investment exceeding RMB6 billion, capital increase and acquisition is main method of business development No. Invest Date Investor Parent Mode Investee Purpose Value Status Note 1 3 5 7 11 13 15 17 9 2022-12-31 2022-12-14 2022-12-8 2022-12-8 2022-9-30 2022-9-25 2022-9-24 2022-9-24 2022-12-1 Jiangxi Deshipu New Materials Guoguang Gardening Haili Zhuzhou Fine Chemicals Hunan Haili Engineering Consulting Shanghai Baofeng Mechanical Guangzhu Agro Haili Guixi New Materials Hunan Haili Engineering & Installation Exclusive Sarabia Lanfeng Biochem Guoguang Hunan Haili Hunan Haili Lianhetec Noposion Hunan Haili Hunan Haili Rainbow 300 mio 300 mio 100 mio 15 mio Lanfeng 100% stakes Guoguang Hunan Haili Hunan Haili Baofeng Mechanical Noposion Hunan Haili Hunan Haili Rainbow Agro Business extension Internal business adjusting Internal business adjusting Internal business adjusting Internal business adjusting Internal business adjusting Internal business adjusting Internal business adjusting Channel setup Takeover Capital increase Merge Merge Capital increase Capital increase Capital increase Capital increase takeover Completed Completed In Progress In Progress In Progress In Progress Completed In Progress In Progress 2 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 4 2022-12-20 2022-12-8 2022-12-8 2022-10-29 2022-9-29 2022-9-24 2022-9-24 2022-9-23 2022-12-8 Nantong Uniphos Chemicals Hunan Haili Engineering Hunan Chemical Research & Lab Testing Jiangsu Fengshan Guoguang Agro Ningxia Haili Tech Hunan Haili Lithium Technology Jiangsu Suke Agrochemical Hunan Haili High-tech Jiangshan Hunan Haili Hunan Anquan Fengshan Guoguang Hunan Haili Hunan Haili Flagchem Hunan Haili 200 mio 100 mio 11 mio 15.22 mio No less than 67% stakes 100% stakes 100% stakes Jiangshan Hunan Haili Hunan Anquan Fengshan Guoguang Gardening Hunan Haili Hunan Haili Flagchem Hunan Haili Industry chain setup Internal business adjusting Internal business adjusting Internal business adjusting Internal business adjusting Internal business adjusting Internal business adjusting Channel setup Business extension Takeover Merge Merge investing Share transfer Capital increase Capital increase Takeover Takeover In Progress In Progress In Progress In Progress Completed Completed Completed In Progress In Progress A summary of capital investment by the 26 companies (Table 2)

No. Invest Date Investor Parent Mode Investee Purpose Value Status Note 31 33 35 37 39 45 49 47 43 41 19 23 25 27 29 21 2022-6-15 2022-6-7 2022-5-5 2022-5-5 2022-4-28 2022-3-22 2022-1-26 2022-2-23 2022-3-22 2022-4-2 2022-9-8 2022-7-20 2022-7-14 2022-7-13 2022-7-1 2022-8-4 Nopposion Jiangshan Hebei Veyong Biochemical Inner Mongolia Veyong Biochemical Lianhetec (Dezhou) Shaanxi Biaozheng Crop Science Ruili Jingcheng Silicon Hunan Xingshu Seed Quanfeng Biological Quanfeng Biological Jiangshan Suli (Ningxia) New Materials Sino Agri Seed Guoguang Gardening Dongguan Ruide Crop Science Haining Haiyun Living Environment Engineering Limin Jiangshan Limin Limin Lianhetec Noposion Wynca Hunan Haili Guoguang Guoguang Jiangshan Suli Sino Agri Guoguang Noposion Qianjiang Bio 354 mio 173 mio 25 mio 800 mio 90 mio 246 mio 8.35 mio 106 mio 164 mio 137 mio 270 mio 27 mio 250 mio 35 mio 10% stakes 10% stakes 60% stakes 20% stakes 31% stakes 25% stakes Veyong Jiangshan Xinneng Limin Limin Lianhetec Noposion Wynca Hunan Haili Guoguang Guoguang Fuhua Tongda Suli Sino Agri Run’er Science Noposion Haiyun R&D Internal business adjusting Internal business adjusting Internal business adjusting Internal business adjusting Internal business adjusting Industry chain & channel setup Business extension Industry chain setup Channel setup Internal business adjusting Internal business adjusting Industry chain & channel setup Internal business adjusting Internal business adjusting Business extension Technical transfer Asset letout Takeover Takeover Capital increase Capital increase Takeover Takeover Takeover Takeover Asset let-out Capital increase Takeover Share transfer Capital increase Takeover In Progress In Progress Completed Completed Completed In Progress Completed Completed In Progress Completed In Progress Completed In Progress Completed In Progress In Progress 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 20 22 24 26 28 30 2022-6-10 2022-6-2 2022-5-5 2022-4-29 2022-4-28 2022-3-31 2022-3-22 2022-3-12 2022-2-11 2022-8-26 2022-7-20 2022-7-16 2022-7-13 2022-7-13 2022-6-16 Suli (Ningxia) New Materials Liaoning Shixing Chemical Hebei Veyong Pharmaceutical Lianhetec (Taizhou) Dalian Yongda Suli Pharmaceutical Hunan Haili Lithium Technology Guangdong Xinian Plastic Technology A2W Pharma Guangdong Nuoxian Agro Ecology Lianhetec Harbin Limin Agrotechnical Sichuan Fengshan Chengdu Xier Crop Shaanxi Jinxin Chemical Noposion Suli Guangxin Limin Lianhetec Suli Hunan Haili Noposion ABA Noposion Lianhetec Jiangshan Fengshan Group Guoguang Hailir Noposion 100 mio 210 mio 148 mio 189 mio 200 mio 97 mio 10 mio 100 mio $100 mio 122 mio 490 mio 3 mio 64 mio 450 mio 70% stakes 10% stakes 100% stakes 10% stakes 33% stakes 26% stakes Suli Guangxin Limin Lianhetec Suli Hunan Haili Noposion ABA Industry Foundation Lianhetec Jiangshan Fengshan Guoguang Hailir Noposion Internal business adjusting Industry chain & channel setup Internal business adjusting Internal business adjusting Internal business adjusting Business extension Internal business adjusting Internal business adjusting Business extension Internal business adjusting Channel setup Internal business adjusting Internal business adjusting Industry chain setup Internal business adjusting Capital increase Takeover Takeover Capital increase Capital increase Takeover Capital increase Takeover Takeover Capital increase Takeover Debt to capital Capital increase Takeover Capital increase In Progress Completed Completed Completed In Progress Completed In Progress Completed In Progress In Progress In Progress In Progress Completed Completed In Progress

INDUSTRY WATCH China Pesticide Industry Watch 35 In 2022, financing and investment happened monthly among the listed pesticide companies. According to incomplete statistics, the 26 listed pesticide companies conducted 49 financing and investment programs, having raised more than RMB6 billion. In addition, 17 pesticide companies launched financing and investment programs on the capital market. Among the above, the capital operation happened mostly through an internal capital increase and share increase, which totaled 20 transactions for 40.87%. A parent company’s support to its subsidiaries through capital input benefits subsidiaries’ follow-up business operations or research and innovation activities. The takeover of shares is the second most happening capital operation, totaling 19 transactions for 38.77%. By acquiring external resources, an investor can build its industry chain advantage and extend the setup of channels. On the other side, practices like Limin and ABA would acquire the stakes in subsidiaries to hold 100% shares of a subsidiary. With these kinds of acquisitions, Limin and ABA recovered the critical share of 10% from the subsidiary. The main purpose of these companies' capital operations was to adjust their internal business deployment or equity structure, totaling 32 transactions and accounting for 65.31%. There were only two acquisitions of foreign companies in 2022: Rainbow’s acquisition of Exclusivas Sarabia, S.A. and ABA’s acquisition of A2W Pharma Ltd. Although this ended up with Rainbow and ABA acquiring 100% shares of their respective targeted company, the difference between the two is that Rainbow wishes to continue the improvement of the company’s global sales network while ABA wants to recover the critical share of 10%, as aforesaid, in a purpose to hold 100% control of its subsidiary. Through the analysis of the 49 cases of capital operation, we identified three crucial pieces of information and one particular case worthy of note. Firstly, listed pesticide companies have begun diversification of businesses. Among them, Hunan Haili and Sino Agri have begun to acquire seed companies. Hunan Haili has deeply involved itself in new materials and lithium batteries, while Lanfeng Biochemical has even started to access the polyamide industry. At present, it is clear that these listed pesticide companies are continuously expanding their business fields, which can protect them from the market impact and ensure a steadier business operation. Secondly, it is high time for capital to enter the pesticide industry. It is not a hot industry sector, but more an industry for the long run operation. Its industry entry level is on the high side, the capital market does not favor its potential for innovation and upgrading. Today, in China’s the 14th Five-Year Plan – Chapter of Pesticide Industry, mergers and acquisitions of outdated production capacity and support to the birth of giant companies are encouraged. Therefore, the presently listed pesticide companies desperately need capital for their business growth. Companies that have experienced the IPO fundraising process often opt to raise funds to support their business development via internal capital increase and share increase. However, this kind of fundraising is extremely slow. Among the ongoing capital operation transactions, ten belong to internal capital increase and share increase, accounting for 38.46%. The earliest one was dated back to March 2022, which is still not finished today. So, for capital, the entry-level to traditional industries is becoming lower while traditional industries are currently encouraged and supported by state policies. Pesticide companies need to raise funds to support their business development. The honeymoon period for capital and pesticide companies is expected to begin in the next five years, which will be their golden era. Thirdly, with globalization continuing and accelerating, the Chinese domestic industry is more closely connected with the world. Revenues of Rainbow, Wynca, and Yangnong Chemical that have opened up the international market have soared in recent years. In 2022, there were only three capital operations to acquire foreign companies, but this might be due to the impact of national policies. However, according to market development analysis, the foreign market deployment will be one Chinese pesticide-listed companies must recognize. In the next few

INDUSTRY WATCH 36 China Pesticide Industry Watch years, Chinese pesticide companies are bound to play a more active role in the international arena. One capital operation that attracted particular attention was the purchase of technology from the Institute of Bioengineering of Zhejiang University of Technology, named “Industrialized L-glufosinate production technology based on biological enzyme method.” There are three reasons why this technology is worth special attention: The first, glufosinate, one of the four burndown herbicides, is a favorite product in the herbicide market. L-glufosinate maintains its control effect and is used at half of the amount of conventional glufosinate after D-isomer is removed and L-isomer remains. The second, at present, the production method of glufosinate is still based on chemical synthesis. It includes three synthesis methods, namely the thermal crackingACA represented by BASF; the AlStrecker process represented by Seven Continent; G-Strecker process represented by Yonon and Lear Chemical. It is said that Jiangshan is researching the synthesis process of glufosinate and L-glufosinate. The third, four companies own L-glufosinate technical registrations in China – Shandong Luba, Lier Chemical, Yonon and Japan Meiji Seika. Judging from the latest assessment disclosed by the US regulatory agencies, a L-glufosinate is about to embrace a broader market. 6. Competition for innovation to intensify as demand grows Resting on one’s achievement is the start of regression. In recent years, the focus of top companies on development can inspire Chinese pesticide companies. So far, the business development of the four agrochemical giants, Syngenta, Corteva, Bayer and BASF, mainly focuses on three aspects. First, close attention to herbicides; second, research and development of biological and environment-friendly products; third, sound development of digital agriculture. China’s 14th Five-Year Plan – Chapter of Pesticide Industry, issued in early 2022 clearly states that it would prioritize ecological protection, green and low-carbon pesticide development. Pesticide companies are encouraged to strengthen technological innovation and process transformation to phase out the outdated production processes to promote clean, lowcarbon and cyclic development of pesticide production. From the perspective of the pesticide industry chain, the four agrochemical giants are in control of the production and processing of innovative technicals, in possession of capabilities of registration and marketing of formulations, with an obvious advantage of industry chain integration. As a result, Chinese companies have begun to participate in making innovative products besides production of intermediates and generic pesticides. At present, more than 90% of the existing pesticide varieties in China have been localized, whilst most companies are actively developing overseas sales networks to expand the scope of business. In terms of supply and demand, the market demand for pesticides will still be growing, mainly for two reasons: The first, the existence of COVID-19 and the volatility of the international situation have aroused global attention to food security, thus increasing the income of crop planting and enhancing farmer’s willingness to grow crops, which is accordingly a driver to the growth of demand for pesticides; The second, the constant GMO commercialization worldwide continues to be popularized in various countries, which have brought great potentials of future development of related market demand for pesticides. Now that China’s GM crop plantation is about to open, agricultural production continues to be centralized more intensively, and the application scenarios of herbicides have increased significantly. However, it is foreseeable that in the future, the herbicide market will still grow significantly. At present, economic development has moved into its new normal while competition is becoming more intensified. It is no more a desired option for pesticide companies to count on the expansion of production to increase market competitiveness. In future business development, a Chinese pesticide company needs to pay attention to the following: (1)Improvement of products on its own; getting through the pesticide industry chain and being deeply involved in the industry chain; striving to create profits in every link of the industry chain. (2)Enhancement of its innovation ability, as innovation ability is an essential requirement to support a company’s rapid development. (3)Emphasizing environmental protection, not only on the production end but also in environmental protection during and after the use of products. (4)Although China is the largest pesticide consumer country, it only accounts for 40% of the global market. Chinese pesticide companies have advantages in production and processing, and great attention must be paid to the overseas market. (5)Herbicides will be a significant product variety of the pesticide industry in the future. Going from generic production to innovation is the mainstream model for the business development of Chinese pesticide companies. Learning from industry leaders helps avoid mistakes in the course of business development and helps to understand the correct market trend, which allows achieve maximized payback at minimized spending. AP

INDUSTRY WATCH China Pesticide Industry Watch 37

INDUSTRY WATCH 38 China Pesticide Industry Watch

INDUSTRY WATCH China Pesticide Industry Watch 39

INDUSTRY WATCH 40 China Pesticide Industry Watch Blind expansion or a new business layout? Observations of pesticide and intermediate project launches in China’s major chemical parks from 2020 to 2022 By Nino Wang Editor of AgroPages he scaling up, intensification and integration of technical, intermediate and formulation are essential for gaining future competitiveness in the pesticide industry. In 2022, China’s issued the 14th Five-Year Plan of Pesticide Industry Development, which encouraged corporate mergers and acquisitions to make full-range production deployment, to promote agrochemical companies to develop toward grouplization, branding and internationalization. This was done to gradually change the decentralized pattern of pesticide industry made up by a large number of small factories. This article uses the pesticide and intermediate projects launched in China’s major chemical parks from 2020 to 2022, starting with a brief presentation of China’s new capacity and industrial chain extension involving glufosinate, L-glufosinate, chlorantraniliprole, prothioconazole, sulfentrazone, oxadiazon, oxadiargyl and chloropyridines herbicides, followed by analysis of the industrial chain advantages of the “Made in China” agrochemicals. Key points of this article: 1.Chinese pesticide industry is still in a stage of continuous optimization of industry layout and adjustment of industrial structure; the production capacity of pesticides and intermediates in the central and western regions will continue to increase in the short term. 2.Chinese domestic leading enterprises are expanding production capacity for continued promotion and supply of pesticide technical. 3.Some enterprises seek to invest in technical production capacity to extend to upstream intermediates, gradually building up an advantageous whole industry chain beyond intermediates. 4.After the strict overcapacity cut implemented in the past few years, some pesticide varieties have been brought into a new round of rapid capacity expansion, whether it being blind expansion like what was two years ago or a new business layout re-positioned by enterprise, it remains to be seen. 2020-2022 Hot Product for Investment According to the observation and summary of the new project launches by the domestic enterprises from 2020 to 2022, we have sorted out the top seven pesticide technical products for which enterprises have planned to launch new capacity, including glufosinate, L-glufosinate, chlorantraniliprole, prothioconazole, sulfentrazone, oxadiazon, oxadiargyl and chloropyridines herbicides which include clopyralid, aminopyralid, fluroxypyr and triclopyr. T

INDUSTRY WATCH China Pesticide Industry Watch 41 Glufosinate-P LEGEND Glufosinate-ammonium Clopyralid Aminopyralid Triclopyr Chlorantraniliprole Sulfentrazone Oxadiargyl Prothioconazole Oxadiazon Fluroxypy Guazhou Industrial Cluster Liugou Coal Chemical Industrial Park Chemical Industrial Cluster Jinchang Hexibao Chemical Recycling Economy Industrial Park Minqin Hongshagang Energy and Chemical Industry Concentration Zone Fine Chemical Industry Park Lanzhou New Area Green Chemical Industry Park Ningdong Energy and Chemical Base - Chemical New Material Park Ningxia Pingluo Industrial Park Yaojiagang Chemical Industry Park, Yichang High-tech Zone, Hubei Province Hubei Jingmen Chemical Recycling Industrial Park Jingjiang Green Recycling Industrial Park Yunmeng Salt chemical recycling economy Industrial Park Jiangxi Yongxiu Spark Industrial Park Jishan Chemical Industry Park, Pengze Industrial Park, Jiujiang, Jiangxi Province Jiangxi Ji 'an Xingan Industrial Park Salt chemical Industry Park Chongqing Wanzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone Chongqing Wansheng Industrial Park Xinqiao Industrial Park, Guang'an Economic and Technological Development Zone Sichuan Nanchong Economic Development Zone Dafenggang Petrochemical new Materials Industrial Park Huai 'an Industrial Park in Jiangsu Province Dongyang Hengdian Chemical Industry Zone Bengbu Huaishang Chemical Industry Park Suzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone Hefei Circular Economy Demonstration Park Caijiashan Fine Chemical Industry Park, Guangde, Xuancheng, Anhui Cangzhou Lingang Economic and Technological Development Zone Shijiazhuang Recycling Chemical Industry Park High-tech Industrial Park, Alxa High-tech Industrial Development Zone, Inner Mongolia Tengger Technology Industrial Park, Alxa Hightech Industrial Development Zone, Inner Mongolia Wuda Industrial Park, Wuhai Economic Development Zone, Inner Mongolia Gansu Province Ningxia Hubei Province Jiangxi Province Chongqing Sichuan Province Jiangsu Province Zhejiang Province Anhui Province Hebei Province Inner Mongolia Weifang Binhai Chemical Industry Park Gaomi Renhe Chemical Industrial Park Jining new material Industrial Park Shenxian Chemical Industry Park Shandong Province

INDUSTRY WATCH 42 China Pesticide Industry Watch Glufosinate is the second-largest burndown herbicide in the world and has been the fastest-growing nonselective herbicide variety in recent years. In the past two years, Chinese manufacturers such as Lier Chemical, Shandong Yisheng, Yonon, Veyong and Wynca have begun deployment of production of glufosinate and L-glufosinate, having made reserves of equipment and capacity, as well as making technical research and development to reduce the cost of production. All glufosinate synthesis enterprises have initiated research and development of L-glufosinate, which is an optimization of the control efficacy of conventional glufosinate technical and formulations. Up to now, 57 L-glufosinate registrations have been granted in China, including 17 single agents and eight formulations, held respectively by Lier Chemical, Yonon and Wynca. On August 13, 2022, chlorantraniliprole technical came off patent, which was immediately chased after by domestic enterprises in competition for the product, for which technical manufacturers have deployed production capacity, downstream formulators have filed for registration, and terminal sellers have made marketing arrangements. Up to date, there have been 83 available chlorantraniliprole products, 49 mixtures, 34 single agents, including 11 registered technical products. In China, nearly 200 Chinese technical and formulation manufacturers, represented by Youdao Chemical, Zhongshan Chemical, Lianyungang Liben Crop Science, Zhengbang Crop, Lier Chemical, Hailir and Meibang, have stepped into the chlorantraniliprole field. In the past two years, the development of prothioconazole has advanced rapidly, with increased sale year by year, which has stayed at about US$500 million in the past three years, becoming the youngest pesticide blockbuster product in the global market, as well as a pillar product among the fungicides. There have been 21 prothioconazole registrations in China, including 17 single agents,15 technicals and 4 mixtures. From 2020 to 2022, Jiuyi, Hailir, Rainbow and Xingfa Group have launched nearly 20,000 tons of new capacity of prothioconazole. Sulfonamide has risen again in the past two years as a major force in addressing the glyphosate-resistant weeds in the United States, whilst China has been one of the central exporting countries of sulfonamide technical. According to China Pesticide Information Network, up to now, there have been 22 available sulfonamide products, including nine technicals. From 2020 to 2022, Rainbow, Heli Technology, Repont Agrochemical and Heyi Chemical launched 8,500 tons of new capacity of sulfonamide. In the past two years, with Chinese manufacturers’ stable supply and capacity expansion, the overall supply of oxadiazon from China has shown improvement while the price has declined. Currently, China’s oxadiazon manufacturers mainly include Guangxin, KLH, Repont Agrochemical and Lantian Agriculture, with a total production capacity of 7,200 tons. In addition, the market demand for oxadiargyl, which is a derivative of oxadiazon, has also gradually increased. In addition, Oxadiargyl has a broader spectrum over oxadiazon, with a better price performance ratio, seven technical registrations have been granted in China. In terms of the chloropyridines series, in 2022, Lier Chemical set up its product chain, from Tetrachloropyridine-2-carboxylic acid to picloram through set up of a new pyridine facility in its wholly-owned Sancaitang Chemical. Meanwhile, the 2,3-Dichloropyridine, the pyridine material of Lier Chemical, is a starting raw material for the subsequent chlorantraniliprole technical and cyantraniliprole technical. Through the new launch of the capacity of pyridine intermediates, Lier Chemical has set up its chloropyridine herbicide chain while expanding the product line to the insecticide field, which increases the company’s product portfolio and profitability. Since 2016, the Chinese pesticide manufacturers have experienced the strict “overcapacity cut” campaign. In the past two years, we have noticed the overcapacity problem and the insufficient demand from markets at home and abroad, but all pesticide varieties seem to be moving back into a new round of rapid capacity expansion. In particular, the production capacity of some of the major varieties has increased sharply. For example, according to incomplete statistics from AgroPages, chlorantraniliprole capacity was declared to reach annually 28,950 tons in 2019 – 2020, whilst the 2020Phlip data shows that the global demand for chlorantraniliprole is only 3,000 tons per year; the production capacity of prothioconazole was annually 23,640 tons, whilst its declared new capacity was 1,4000 tons in 2021-2022, far higher than the global demand of 7,000 tons annually. In terms of intermediates, the production capacity of chloropyridine herbicides have shown an obvious growth trend. Whether the capacity expansion is a blind expansion like two years ago or a new business layout as repositioned by enterprises, let’s wait and see. AP

Hubei Jingmen Chemical Recycling Park Yaojiagang Chemical Park, Yichang High-tech Zone, Hubei Province Jingzhou Economic Development Zone - Green Circular Industry Park 100 Ji’ning New Material Industrial Park - Ji’ning Chemical Industrial Park 10000 Weifang Binhai Chemical Industry Park 1000 Jiangxi Yongxiu Xinghuo Industry Park 600 Bengbu Huaishang Chemical Industry Park 2000 Table 1 2020-2022 Chinese pesticide capacity launch & global demand (Unit: ton/year) Product Investor Total Capacity (ton/year) Industrial Park Shijiazhuang Circular Chemical Industry Park Weifang Binhai Chemical Industry Park Ji’ning New Material Industry Park (Ji’ning Chemical Industry Park) Hubei Jingmen Chemical Circular Industrial Park Xinqiao Industrial Park, Guang’an Economic and Technological Development Zone Lanzhou New District Green Chemical Park (Chemical Park + Special & Professional + Fine Chemical Park) Ningxia Pingluo Industrial Park-Pharmaceutical Park Cangzhou Lingang Economic and Technological Development Zone Anhui Xuancheng Guangde Caijiashan Fine Chemical Park High-tech Industrial Park of Alxa High-tech Industrial Development Zone, Inner Mongolia Wuda Industrial Park, Wuhai Economic Development Zone, Inner Mongolia Jingjiang Green Circular Industrial Park Xinqiao Industrial Park, Guang’an Economic and Technological Development Zone Ningdong Energy and Chemical Industry Base – New Chemical Material Park Weifang Binhai Chemical Industrial Park Ji’ning New Material Industrial Park - Ji’ning Chemical Industry Park Xinxian County Chemical Industry Park High-tech Industrial Park, Alxa High-tech Industrial Development Zone, Inner Mongolia 5000 8500 20000 3500 5000 5000 6000 1000 7000 20000 20000 5000 50000 40000 50000 5500 10000 13000 10000 4500 50000 20,000 ton TC+ 10,000 ton TK Glufosinate Chlorantraniliprole L-Glufosinate If you want to know the names of the investor companies of these projects and their parent companies, please contact: agropages@vip.163.com Gaomirenhe Chemical Industry Park 1000 1000 1000 Jingjiang Green Recycling Industrial Park 2000 5000 5300 2000 Xinqiao Industrial Park, Guang’an Economic and Technological Development Zone Chongqing Wanzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone 2000 Coal Chemical Industrial Park, Pucheng County, Weinan, Shaanxi 2000

44 China Pesticide Industry Watch Bengbu Huaishang Chemical Industry Park Yunmeng Salt Chemical Circular Economy Industrial Park Chongqing Wansheng Industrial Park Jinchang Hexipu Chemical Circular Park 3000 300 500 400 Fluroxypyr 3,6-Dichloropicolinic Bengbu Huaishang Chemical Industry Park Xinqiao Industrial Park, Guang’an Economic and Technological Development Zone 5000 3000 Oxadiazon Anhui Xuancheng Guangde Caijiashan Fine Chemical Park Suzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone Minqin Hongshagang Energy and Chemical Industry Clustering Zone - Fine Chemical Park Lanzhou New District Green Chemical Park (Chemical Park + Special & Professional + Fine Chemical Park) Ningxia Pingluo Industrial Park - Fine Chemical Park 3000 1200 1000 1000 1000 Weifang Binhai Chemical Industrial Park Sichuan Nanchong Economic Development Zone Lanzhou New District Green Chemical Park (Chemical Park + Special & Professional + Fine Chemical Park) Jinchang Hexipu Chemical Circular Park Ningdong Energy and Chemical Industry Base – New Chemical Material Park 3000 1500 300 500 1000 2000 Wuda Industrial Park, Wuhai Economic Development Zone, Inner Mongolia Tengger Technology Industrial Park, Alxa High-tech Industrial Development Zone, Inner Mongolia Hefei Circular Economy Demonstration Park Jiangxi Ji’an Xin’gan Industrial Park Salinization Industrial City 2000 1000 5000 2000 Prothioconazole Product Investor Total Capacity (ton/year) Industrial Park Chlorantraniliprole If you want to know the names of the investor companies of these projects and their parent companies, please contact: agropages@vip.163.com Sulfentrazone Oxadiargyl Guazhou Industrial Zone Liugou Coal Chemical Park - Chemical Industry Cluster Dongyang Hengdian Chemical Special Zone Jiangsu Huai’an Industrial Park Jiangxi Jiujiang Pengze Industrial Park Jishan Chemical Park Anhui Xuancheng Guangde Caijiashan Fine Chemical Park Suzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone Lanzhou New District Green Chemical Park (Chemical Park + Special & Professional + Fine Chemical Park) Ningxia Pingluo Industrial Park - Fine Chemical Park Sichuan Nanchong Economic Development Zone Ningxia Pingluo Industrial Park - Pharmaceutical Park Lanzhou New District Green Chemical Park (Chemical Park + Special & Professional + Fine Chemical Park) 1000 500 300 500 600 3000 1000 1500 2000 1000 500 1500 Bengbu Huaishang Chemical Industry Park Dafeng Port Petrochemical New Material Industrial Park Xinqiao Industrial Park, Guang’an Economic and Technological Development Zone Chongqing Wansheng Industrial Park 5000 1000 2000 1000 Aminopyralid Triclopyr

INDUSTRY WATCH China Pesticide Industry Watch 45 Product Capacity (2021-2022) Global demand (2020 Phlip data) Capacity (2019-2020) 124500 11300 28950 1400 - 1000 43500 5800 23640 - 900 137500 7500 43600 1100 7000 2000 173300 3000 14000 8000 4200 16000 12000 3000 150 7200 630 About 1,200 800 7000 2880 4880 Glufosinate Sulfentrazone Chlorantraniliprole Oxadiargyl Aminopyralid Triclopyr L-Glufosinate Oxadiazon Prothioconazole 3,6-Dichloropicolinic acid Fluroxypyr Table 2 Changes in declared capacity launch (Unit: ton/year) INSECTICIDE HERBICIDE FUNGICIDE REGULATOR Shenzhen Baocheng Chemical Industry CO.,LTD YOU RELIABLE PARTNER ● 4 Formulation plants worldwide ● GLP documents available ● Multiple types of small packing ● Customized formulations & combinations ● High quality as long time supporting E.U. standards Add:A1603 Tian An Plaza,Renmin Nan Road,Shenzhen,P.R.China TEL: +86-755-82192796 82192178 E-mail: denis.lu@baochengagro.com bci@vip.163.com Contact Person: Mr. Denis Lu / Mr. Michael Lu ETHEPHON ABAMECTIN INDOXACARB PYRIDALYL THIAMETHOXAM EMAMECTIN BENZOATE IMIDACLOPRID PYRIPROXYFEN TOLFENPYRAD ETOXAZOLE LAMBDA-CYHALOTHRIN SPIROTETRAMAT FIPRONIL METHOMYL CHLORANTRANILIPROLE 2,4D ACID/AMINE SALT GLUFOSINATE AMMONIUM METRIBUZIN S-METOLACHLOR ATRAZINE GLYPHOSATE NICOSULFURON TEMBOTRIONE BISPYRIBAC-SODIUM HALOXYFOP-R-METHYL OXASULFURON THIENCARBAZONE BROMACIL HEXAZINONE PARAQUAT TOPRAMEZONE DICAMBA ISOXAFLUTOLE PENOXSULAM TRIFLOXYSULFURON FLORASULAM MESOSULFURON-METHYL PINOXADEN FLUMIOXAZIN MESOTRIONE PYROXASULFONE BENTHIAVALICARB CYPRODINIL KRESOXIM-METHYL PROTHIOCONAZOLE BIXAFEN EPOXICONAZOLE MANCOZEB PYRACLOSTROBIN BOSCALID FLUAZINAM PICOXYSTROBIN TRIFLOXYSTROBIN CAC2023 Booth No: 52D01 Note: The production capacity information of hot products, the location of the park, and the relationship between investment and construction enterprises and companies in the article are all from the public information such as the government environmental assessment website, the announcement of investment and construction enterprises and companies

Feature: Showcase of China’s “Specialized and Novel” crop protection produ technologies/applications Sponsored by

China Pesticide Industry Watch 47 SPECIALIZATION AND NOVELTY Sponsored by he overall industrial upgrading of Chinese manufacture industry happens to coincides with the unprecedented changes in the last 100 years. In this new era full of opportunities and policy support, the Chinese pesticide enterprises have worked hard to achieve constant technical breakthroughs via innovation and upgrading, as based on the experiences gained in the past decades. Some enterprises have so far made preliminary achievements, having formed an advanced and sophisticated technology and product cluster. In this special publication, we have selected 11 Chinese pesticide manufacturers that are characterized with professionalism, intensification, specialization and novelty, which is a presentation of Chinese pesticide enterprise’s research and development of new products, breakthroughs in technical innovation, upgrading of type of formulations and continued exploration of applications. The publication will exhibit the achievements in each individual sector, which is internationally advanced, revealing the new competitiveness of Chinese pesticide industry. The Chinese innovative pesticide manufacturers, represented by the above-mentioned enterprises, are ready to join hands with customers to build the new image of the Chinese pesticide industry chain to better serve the global agriculture and sustainable food production and to play a part in safeguarding the global food security. Editor: Mickey Shan ucts/ T

Green chemical innovation drives fine chemical production to reach a new level An innovative enterprise focusing on technical research and development Hebei Lansheng Biotechnology Co., Ltd, established in March 2014, is located in Jinzhou Economic Development Zone, Hebei Province, and committed to research and development of high-efficient, low-toxic, green and novel pesticides. Assuming responsibility for the production of green pesticides, the company focuses on technical research and development of the clean production of green pesticides, having made several breakthroughs in green chemistry-based product innovation. Since its establishment, the company has developed rapidly, ranking 61st on China’s top 100 pesticide sale list in 2022. Lansheng Biotech owns a green chemistry-oriented research institute and four production bases, covering five pesticide series - insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, plant growth regulators and pesticide additives. Its principal products include clethodim, spirotetramat, brassinolide, metribuzin, Isoxadifen-ethyl and Boscalid. Several products have filled the gaps in China, for which the EU technical equivalence is certified; several scientific and technological achievements have reached the internationally advanced or domestically leading level. The company’s products are regarded highly by customers at home and abroad. Lansheng Biotech has continued to invest in R&D activities. In recent years, its R&D spending has reached 4% or above. The company possesses a high-level R&D team and has achieved many technological achievements which have been industrialized, enabling the Lansheng Biotech GREEN CHEMISTRY