From pesticide registration to online sales, from production supervision to label management, a more stringent and standardized management system has officially been implemented.
On December 12, 2025, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs issued the “Notice on Further Standardizing the Management of Pesticides”. This document is like a comprehensive “professional maintenance and upgrade” of the pesticide management system, aiming to tighten every link’s “screws” to ensure the quality and safety of pesticides, protect farmers’ rights and interests, and promote green agricultural development.
The content of the notice covers key areas such as pesticide registration, production, operation, experimentation, and labels. We have summarized the eight core changes in it for you. These changes will directly affect pesticide enterprises, distributors, and the vast number of growers.
Change 1: Improve the registration information officer system
New regulations require: The pesticide registration applicant must appoint a dedicated person as an information officer to handle all registration-related matters. Even if a proxy agency is used, an information officer must be set up within the enterprise.
Industry impact: This is equivalent to equipping a “professional navigator” for the complex pesticide registration process. The information officer will serve as a professional bridge between the enterprise and the regulatory authorities, ensuring the accuracy of application materials and a smooth process, significantly improving the registration efficiency and reducing delays caused by information inaccessibility.
Change 2: New pesticide registration materials have a “six-year protection period”
New regulation stipulates: The first company to obtain a pesticide registration certificate for a new compound will have the right to authorize others to use its registration materials only within the six-year period after registration.
Policy implications: A valuable “six-year golden protection period” has been established for pesticide innovators. This move aims to protect research investment, encourage original innovation, enable pioneering companies to obtain market returns first, and create an industry environment that encourages innovation. After the six-year period, the technical materials can be shared more widely.
Change 3: Renewal of Registration Certificates is Limited to “Identity Changes”
New regulations stipulate: In the future, a pesticide registration certificate can only be renewed if the name of the enterprise holding the certificate changes, or if there is a merger or division of the enterprise.
Regulatory purpose: To clarify the seriousness of the pesticide registration certificate as the “identity card” of the product. This regulation eliminates the possibility of arbitrary certificate renewal, ensuring that the identity of the pesticide product is clear and traceable throughout the process, effectively curbing market chaos, and making each pesticide have a “clear origin”.
Change 4: Strengthen supervision of entrusted production, prohibiting outsourcing of raw materials
New regulations stipulate: The production of pesticide raw materials (mother substances) is strictly prohibited from being entrusted to third parties. For entrusted processing or packaging of preparations, a standardized contract must be signed, complete technical materials must be provided, and the product labels must not display the trademark of the entrusted party.
Safety baseline: Comparing raw materials to the “chips” of pesticides, they must be produced independently by licensed enterprises to control the core quality and safety from the source. The entrusted processing also needs to be standardized and transparent to prevent “borrowing licenses for production” and trademark confusion. Regulatory authorities will conduct key inspections and crackdowns on this.
Change 5: Operating pesticides online requires “prior registration”
New regulation stipulates: To operate pesticides through the internet, one must legally register with the issuing authority. Provincial departments are required to upload the registration information to the national platform by March 31, 2026, and update it dynamically.
Online governance: Selling pesticides online will no longer be in an “invisible” state. This measure aims to draw up a “national map of online pesticide operations”, enabling the management and control of online sales channels, as well as traceability. It is a crucial step in responding to new e-commerce trends and filling regulatory gaps.
Change 6: Crack down on the forgery of registration test data
New regulations stipulate: For units that issue false test reports, severe penalties will be imposed in accordance with the “Pesticide Management Regulations”; for other violations of test quality management norms, handling will be carried out in accordance with the “Pesticide Registration Test Management Measures”.
Solid foundation: Test data is the “scientific cornerstone” for evaluating the safety and effectiveness of pesticides. The new regulations send out a strong signal of “zero tolerance” for test data forgery, similar to having an “auditor” stationed to strictly supervise, ensuring that the assessment basis is true and reliable, and guarding the scientific checkpoint before product launch.
Change 7: Refine label trademark management and achieve information transparency
New regulations require: Enterprises must truthfully fill in the trademark used for the labels and its registration information on the official platform. For pesticides produced after January 1, 2026, the label trademarks must comply with the regulations. Changes in trademarks require re-reporting.
Consumption transparency: Promote the “transparency” of pesticide label information. The trademark information is linked to the official database, which is equivalent to attaching an “electronic identity code” to the product, facilitating supervision and public traceability, standardizing brand usage, and protecting consumers’ rights and interests.
Change 8: Emphasize publicity and interpretation to ensure policy implementation
New regulations require: All regions must strengthen policy publicity and interpretation as well as organizational leadership to ensure implementation. This notice takes effect from the date of issuance. Previous inconsistent regulations shall be subject to this notice.
Key to implementation: The vitality of policies lies in their implementation. It is required that all departments act as “publicity officers” and “instructors” to ensure that the new regulations are deeply rooted and implemented effectively. The authority and starting point of the new regulations have been clarified.
The newly released pesticide management regulations are comprehensive, targeted, and cover the entire chain. From protection of research and development innovation, to control of the production source, to regulation of circulation and operation, and finally to transparency at the consumption end, they form a “package” that covers the entire chain.
Post time: Jun-16-2026
