China proposes tighter registration rules for new agricultural chemicals

China has proposed revised environmental registration rules for new chemical substances, potentially affecting companies that supply active ingredients, intermediates, adjuvants, coatings and other chemicals used in fertilizers, pesticides and agricultural products. The draft would require manufacturers and importers to obtain approval before producing or bringing into China a chemical that is not included in the country’s existing substances inventory, or before using a listed chemical for a newly regulated purpose.

Finished fertilizers, pesticides, veterinary drugs, feed additives and several other agricultural products have historically been exempt from the new-chemical registration system because they are governed by separate sector-specific regulations. However, the U.S. Department of Agriculture report indicates that agricultural companies should assess whether novel components used in these products — rather than the finished products themselves — could fall within the revised framework. The translated draft does not explicitly restate the broad list of product exemptions contained in the existing rules, creating potential uncertainty for developers and importers of new crop-protection and plant-nutrition technologies.

Under the proposal, chemicals manufactured or imported at volumes of at least one metric ton annually would require regular registration, including toxicological, ecotoxicological and physicochemical data. Volumes below one metric ton would qualify for simplified registration, while authorities could request additional risk information once nationwide production and imports reach 10 metric tons. Companies would also have to pass registration information and pollution-control requirements to downstream users, maintain annual activity records and report newly discovered environmental or health risks. Violations could bring fines of RMB 10,000 to RMB 100,000, equivalent to approximately $1,500 to $14,800 at current exchange rates, as well as a three-year suspension from submitting new applications.

China notified the proposal to the World Trade Organization on July 1. The draft lists August 15, 2026, as its planned effective date, although international stakeholders may submit comments through August 30, creating an unusually compressed consultation and implementation timetable. Companies selling new fertilizer additives, pesticide ingredients, biological-product components or other specialty agricultural chemicals into China may need to review substance inventories, import volumes and data requirements before the rules take effect.