Glyphosate prices continue to rise, and the agrochemical price index has returned to its historical peak.
Category:
Industry Information
Author:
Wang Can, China Pesticide Industry Association
Source:
China Pesticide Industry Association
Release date:
2021-07-21
Glyphosate prices continue to rise, and the pesticide price index has returned to its historical peak.
In 2013, the China Pesticide Industry Association released the China Agricultural Pesticide Price Index (CAPI) for the first time, serving as a barometer of China’s macroeconomic developments in the pesticide sector and reflecting changes, trends, and the magnitude of price movements within the industry.
In early 2020, The COVID‑19 pandemic has erupted globally, triggering a cascade of disruptions—including restrictions on resuming production and bottlenecks in supply chains—that have severely undermined the normal operations of China’s agrochemical industry. As a result, agrochemical products have experienced short‑term supply shortages and sharp price increases. In the first quarter, during February—the critical phase of domestic epidemic control—production and business activities were constrained, and temporary supply shortages of certain spring‑sowing inputs drove prices higher, pushing the February price index up to 89.04. By March, as the resumption of work and production accelerated and logistics gradually resumed, the situation of product supply constraints eased, leading to a modest decline in the price index to 88.87. The average price index for the first quarter was 88.83. In April, as the domestic epidemic eased, pesticide exports rebounded against the trend, and a sharp short-term increase in demand directly pushed prices higher, lifting the index to 89.93. Subsequently, the direct impact of the pandemic on the pesticide market waned, while persistent weak global demand further weighed on the market, leading to a substantial decline in the price index. The average values for the second and third quarters were 88.27 and 85.03, respectively. As we entered the fourth quarter, prices for upstream raw materials of glyphosate—such as yellow phosphorus and glycine—rose, while inventories declined, tightening market supply. This drove a rebound in glyphosate prices, which to some extent boosted the agrochemical price index. The average value of the price index for the fourth quarter was 85.95. 。
Entering 2021, Driven by favorable global weather conditions, rising market demand, and increasing prices of raw materials and intermediates, the prices of most agrochemical products have risen significantly, with herbicides such as glyphosate and glufosinate experiencing the largest increases. Taking glyphosate as an example, its weighted average transaction price in June 2021 was RMB 38,400 per ton, up 61.34% from the end of 2020, thereby boosting the agrochemical price index by 17.00 percentage points.
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Looking at the performance of the three major pesticide sub‑indices, herbicides have been on a rapid upward trajectory, driven by increased market demand and rising prices for products such as glyphosate, glufosinate, and 2,4‑D. The index has climbed from 82.86 at the beginning of the year to 106.76 in June, a gain of 30.05%. This marks another breach of the 100‑point threshold, following the peak reached during the 2013 environmental compliance review of glyphosate, and the short‑term upward trend is expected to persist.
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Compared with the “exponential” rise in the herbicide price index, the insecticide price index has increased more moderately, climbing from 101.72 at the beginning of the year to 114.10 in June—a 12.17% increase—gradually returning to the level of the same period last year.
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From the perspective of fungicides, at the beginning of the year, sporadic outbreaks in certain domestic regions coincided with the critical spring‑plowing preparation period, affecting the use of these products on crops such as wheat and rapeseed. As a result, short‑term demand for fungicide products increased, driving prices higher and pushing the index up from 109.83 at the start of the year to 115.53 in March, a rise of 5.19%. Subsequently, as temperatures warmed, demand for fungicides weakened, causing prices to decline and pulling the price index down to 106.37 by June—a drop of 7.93%.
Year-on-year changes in China’s Agricultural Chemical Price Index (CAPI) for January–June 2021
Comparing the year-on-year changes in price indices for the first half of 2021 and 2020, we observe that both the pesticide and herbicide price‑index curves lie above the 0.00% line, indicating that overall prices were higher than in the same period of 2020. Herbicides, in particular, remained above the 20% threshold, with the largest year‑on‑year increase reaching 60.45% in June. The insecticide price‑index curve, starting from a maximum year‑on‑year decline of −12.74%, successively crossed the −10.00% and 0.00% marks before rebounding to 3.26%, signifying that insecticide prices, initially below last year’s level, steadily narrowed the gap and eventually surpassed the prior‑year figure. Meanwhile, the fungicide price index consistently stayed below the −10.00% line, reflecting a substantial year‑on‑year decline; in April, it recorded the sharpest drop, at −20.33%.
In June 2021, China’s pesticide price index continued to rise. According to the China Pesticide Industry Association, the June Pesticide Price Index (CAPI) stood at 108.46, up 3.95% month-on-month and 25.66% year-on-year.
Looking at the performance of the three major categories of pesticide price indices, herbicides continue to exhibit strong upward momentum, insecticides are rising steadily, and fungicides are on a sustained downward trend. Notably, the continued increase in the spot prices of glyphosate technical grade is the primary driver behind the positive growth of both the overall pesticide index and the herbicide index.
Herbicide
The herbicide price index stood at 106.76, up 8.58% month-on-month and 60.45% year-on-year.
Among herbicide products, driven by sustained demand in both domestic and international markets and by the ongoing rise in raw material and intermediate costs, the weighted average transaction price of glyphosate increased by 13.61% month-on-month this month, pushing up the herbicide price index by 8.84 percentage points—this was the primary factor behind the substantial increase in the herbicide price index.
Pesticide
The pesticide price index stood at 114.10, up 1.59% month-on-month and 3.26% year-on-year.
Among insecticide products, the transaction prices of imidacloprid, chlorpyrifos, trichlorfon, and triazophos rose month-on-month by 3.74%, 4.36%, 7.11%, and 8.15%, respectively, driving the insecticide price index up by 2.04 percentage points; abamectin and emamectin benzoate remained relatively stable, with transaction prices experiencing only minor fluctuations; while the transaction prices of profenofos, lambda‑cyhalothrin, malathion, and fipronil stayed largely within a ±2.5% range.
Fungicide
The fungicide price index stood at 106.37, down 3.28% month-on-month and 18.15% year-on-year.
Among fungicide products, the transaction prices of carbendazim, chlorothalonil, tebuconazole, thiophanate‑methyl, flutriafol, and prochloraz all declined, with drops ranging from 3% to 9.5%, dragging down the fungicide price index by 5.06 percentage points. Meanwhile, the transaction prices of azoxystrobin, propiconazole, and difenoconazole rose month over month by 5.86%, 4.08%, and 7.06%, respectively, pushing the fungicide price index up by 1.44 percentage points. Prices for other products remained relatively stable, fluctuating within a narrow range.
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