2011: How the Pesticide Industry Copes with Non-Trade Barriers

Expert suggestion: develop downstream sales channels and strengthen international cooperation

Not long ago, the EU issued an official announcement and officially terminated its anti-dumping measures against glyphosate. China's glyphosate enterprises resume normal exports to Europe. In 2011, China's pesticide industry is still facing increasingly frequent and diverse forms of non-trade barriers, and export resistance has become a major uncertainty factor, which has affected the release of domestic production capacity and normal development. Experts suggest that domestic companies should vigorously develop downstream sales channels, strengthen cooperation with major international companies, and establish brands.

The reporter learned from the China Pesticide Industry Association that with the rapid growth of China’s pesticide export volume year after year, developed countries have continuously set a series of non-trade barriers, such as pesticide residue standards, pesticide product technical standards and anti-dumping investigations, etc. More restrictions. Relevant statistics show that at present, China’s pesticide market share in developed countries is still less than 10%, and China’s largest exporter of glyphosate has encountered anti-dumping investigations in countries such as Australia, Brazil, Argentina, and the European Union, and met the United States in March last year. Anti-dumping investigations.

It is understood that even foreign countries have even taken special actions, such as the use of media to promote publicity, set up corporate health and safety barriers, etc., to dismantle and boycott China's pesticide product exports. This has become another form of anti-dumping for some countries.

According to Sun Shubao, secretary-general of the China Pesticide Industry Association, the development strategies of multinational companies have already made major adjustments. They are making full use of global resources to reposition and configure internal resources of the company. At the same time, for reasons such as environmental protection, production costs, etc., they have taken measures to master scientific research and development and marketing, and to produce and purchase original drugs in other countries. “The development of foreign companies is driven by R&D. Moreover, the market share of patented products continues to expand. China’s pesticide companies are still not able to compete on technical competitiveness, and sales-driven development models will exist for some time. Enterprises should vigorously develop downstream sales. Channel." Sun Shubao thinks.

The relevant person in charge of Zhejiang Xin'an Chemical Group Co., Ltd. also believes that pesticide companies should speed up the process of internationalization, strengthen cooperation with major international companies, establish sales networks in major target markets, and achieve local production of products. At the same time, it will implement a marketing guideline guided by the market, aiming to increase market share and guide consumer spending, build domestic and foreign marketing systems, and explore and innovate new marketing models.

After one year of development, China and ASEAN countries have established a free trade zone that has shown positive interaction. Taking advantage of the role of the world's largest free trade zone and opening up sales channels for pesticide products will undoubtedly add momentum to China's pesticide exports this year.

Strengthening the establishment of domestic brands also needs to be accelerated. At present, there are countries in which agricultural production has China's pesticides have become a consensus of the industry, but it also highlights a disadvantage: domestic products still lack internationally competitive brands in the international market. In order to change this situation, the reporter learned that in the first year of the “12th Five-Year Plan” period, accelerating the cultivation of brand products with independent intellectual property rights, expanding the share in the global high-end pesticide market, and strengthening the international competitiveness of the industry has become a pesticide. One of the key tasks of the industry.

At the same time, pesticide-exporting enterprises in China, like pesticide production enterprises, are small and dispersed, and production companies and foreign trade companies do not form an overall synergy. The same products and foreign trade companies have multiple inquiry prices, causing competition among manufacturers to lower prices and create vicious competition. This is one of the main reasons why it is difficult to form a competitive brand. Liang Huazhong, general manager of Jiangsu Lanfeng Bio-Chemical Co., Ltd., believes that the production companies must unite and work together to develop a reasonable collaborative charter and industry access conditions in order to withstand market risks and enhance competitiveness. According to the reporter's understanding, as of now, the China Pesticide Industry Association has established a collaborative group of 11 products, and three new product collaboration groups have also been established. Sun Shubao also believes that production companies must also strengthen cooperation with trading companies to form a concerted effort to avoid disorderly competition, cooperate in responding to non-trade barriers, and jointly combat adverse external circumstances.

According to Gu Baoyin, deputy director of the Ministry of Agriculture's Directorate for Pesticides, overseas registration is the biggest bottleneck and difficulty for Chinese pesticides to go international. However, to truly go international, pesticides must be registered internationally, and offices must be set up overseas to provide technical and after-sales services. Only in this way can Chinese pesticides really take root in foreign countries. At present, China's export of pesticides is mainly based on the original drug (including mother liquor), accounting for about 60% of the total export volume. There is only a place of origin registration in foreign countries, and there is no product registration, and most of the profits are earned by multinational companies or middlemen.

Gu Baogen also suggested that pesticide production and trading companies should not only comply with relevant regulations in China but also comply with the regulations of the importing country when they engage in international trade. Export products must be registered in China and obtain production licenses, and must also be registered in the importing country. To export legitimate products, it is necessary to cooperate with foreign traders or production companies that are honest and law-abiding, operate with integrity, do not violate the law, and do not do any damage to the interests of the industry and the reputation of the country.