New policies of pesticide registration in China (2022)

January

On Jan 7, 2022, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs revised and repromulgated the Measures for the Administration of Pesticide Registration Trials and the Measures for the Administration of Pesticide Registration. The main content of the amendment is that the registration test of new pesticides is changed from examination and approval to filing.

March 

On March 11, 2022, the Notice of the General Office of MARA on the issuance of guidelines for field efficacy trials of herbicides against weeds in transgenic herbicide-tolerant corn and soybean fields.

On March 17, 2022, MARA, PRC pointed out that in order to ensure the quality and safety of agricultural products, human and animal safety and ecological environment safety, in accordance with the principles, with the consent of The State Council, It was decided to take elimination measures for four kinds of highly toxic pesticides, such as Phorate, Isofenphos-methyl, Isocarbophos and Ethoprophos. As of September 1, 2022, the pesticide registration of the technicals and formulations of Phorate, Isofenphos-methyl, Isocarbophos and Ethoprophos will be revoked, and the production of such products will be prohibited. Legally produced products can be sold and used during the quality guarantee period, which will be banned from September 1, 2024

On March 25, 2022, the MARA, PRC pointed out that in accordance with relevant regulations, in order to standardize the registration and management of Target herbicides for genetically modified herbicide-tolerant crops and ensure the safety and effectiveness of pesticides, the MARA, PRC has organized and formulated the "Requirements on Registration Data of Target Herbicides for Genetically Modified Herbicide-tolerant Crops", which is hereby promulgated and shall come into force as of the date of issuance. The previously issued registration information on herbicides for genetically modified herbicide-tolerant crops is required to be repealed.

On March 29, 2022, the Regulations on Pesticide Management were revised for the second time in accordance with the Decision of The State Council on Amending and Abolishing Part of the Administrative Regulations. The main content of the amendment is that the registration test of new pesticides is changed from examination and approval to filing.

August

(1) Registration of granules. The application of granules to soil to control above-ground crop diseases and insect pests is extensive, not specific to the control target, and the application dose is large, which does not meet the requirements of reducing pesticide quantity and increasing efficiency, is not conducive to the protection of ecological environment, and is inconsistent with the concept of green development. It is recommended that soil application of granulated products for the control of above-ground diseases and pests should not be approved in principle, except for the control of soil-borne diseases or underground pests.

(2) On toxicological query information for registration of new pesticides for export only. In order to standardize the toxicological information of application for registration of new pesticides for export only, the information published on JMPR, EFSA, USEPA and other official websites can be submitted. Those unable to provide the above-mentioned official inquiry materials shall submit the toxicology test report, which shall comply with the provisions of Article 16 of the Measures for the Administration of Pesticide Registration and be issued by a registered test unit identified by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs or by an overseas laboratory that has signed a mutual recognition agreement with China.

September

On Sept 5, 2022, the MARA pointed out in No. 15 [2022] of whether cleaning and disinfection products belong to pesticides: According to Article 2 of the Regulations on the Control of Pesticides, pesticides refer to a substance or a mixture of several substances and their formulations that are synthesized chemically or derived from biological or other natural substances for the prevention and control of diseases, insects, grasses, rats and other harmful organisms that endanger agriculture and forestry, as well as for the purposeful regulation of the growth of plants and insects. Accordingly, the cleaning products and disinfection products with the efficacy of "sterilizing bacteria" and "killing mites", do not belong to the above category of pesticides and are not subject to pesticide management.

October 

On October 11, 2022, Pesticide Registration Information No. 29, 2022, the Pesticide Registration Review Committee discussed the registration of plant growth regulators mixed formulations. The pesticide Registration and Evaluation Committee believes that the use period and dosage of plant growth regulators are strictly required, and improper use is easy to cause crop drug damage or affect the quality of agricultural products. In principle, it does not agree with the registration of plant growth regulators mixed with insecticides, fungicides and herbicides.

Relevant information is as follows:

(I) Registration of mixed formulations containing herbicides such as Glyphosate or Glufosinate ammonium. In view of the fact that there are many formulations applying for the mixing of herbicides of non-cultivated species with selective herbicides of farmland, and the risks of drift, misuse and overdosage in actual use, the pesticide Registration and Evaluation Committee recommends that the registration test and record of the mixed formulations of herbicides of non-cultivated species with selective herbicides of farmland should not be approved. At the same time, it is suggested to standardize the contents of the labels of insecticidal herbicides, and prohibit their use in agricultural and forestry areas such as field roads, ridge, tree rows, fallow land, forest farm and woodland, so as to prevent the spray drift from causing drug damage to surrounding crops.

(2) Registration and Administration of drug use for crops with herbicide tolerance in conventional breeding. According to the Evaluation committee of pesticide registration, the herbicide tolerant crops in conventional breeding are not produced by transgenic or gene editing, but mainly by photoinduction, and their characters are unstable. The herbicide used in conventional breeding of herbicide tolerant crops has certain safety risks and may cause drug harm, so it is necessary to be cautious in crop drug registration. In order to further standardize the drug registration of conventionally bred herbicide-tolerant crops, the Evaluation Committee of pesticide Registration recommended that conventionally bred herbicide-tolerant crops should be evaluated by referring to the four-fold dose applied to genetically modified herbicide-tolerant crops to evaluate the drug resistance of crop varieties and the safety of herbicides to crops.

(3) Approval requirements for pesticide labels. In accordance with the "Measures for the Administration of Pesticide Labels and Instructions", in order to further refine the examination of the use of technical requirements, product performance, precautions, poisoning first aid measures, storage and transportation methods, quality guarantee period and other contents, and better guide farmers to use pesticides scientifically and rationally, the pesticide Registration Review Committee deliberated and passed the "Opinions on Further refining the approval requirements of pesticide labels". As a reference for pesticide registration applicants and holders to make pesticide labels and provide reference for approval.

November

On Nov 11, 2022, the MARA issued Notice No. 618, in which 30 standards related to environmental impact of pesticides, were approved by experts and released as agricultural industry standards. The above standards mainly involve the cultivation of biological test materials, test methods and risk assessment guidelines for environmental impact tests of pesticide registration. They will be officially implemented from March 1, 2023. After implementation, they will further standardize the environmental impact tests and risk assessment of pesticide registration and improve the reliability of test data and risk assessment conclusions of pesticide registration.