According
to the price monitoring data from CCM, the price of paraquat experienced a drop
by early September in the Chinese market. As the statistics demonstrate, the ex-works
price of 42% paraquat TK reached USD 2,863.87/t in September, decreasing by
2.74% month on month and 4.52% year on year. It is expected that the price will
continue to remain low in the near future with little sign for growth again.
The
decrease of price in paraquat has an impact on the price of pyridine. It is
shown in the price monitoring data from CCM that the price of pyridine in China
witnessed a sharp fall in September 2019. The average ex-works price of 99.9%
pyridine was USD 2 751.01/t, declining by 7.49% month on month and 10.47% year
on year. Because of the sluggish downstream market of paraquat, it is unlikely
for a short term increase of price in pyridine. Therefore, the price of
pyridine is expected to remain low in the future as well.
Paraquat regarded as highly efficient herbicide
without antidote
Paraquat is
a pyridine herbicide commonly in the form of 20% aqueous solution as
formulation. Due to its typical features of high efficiency and swiftness, paraquat
can be widely utilized to prevent soybeans, corn, rice, vegetables, cotton
fields and orchards from pests. Apart from that, this herbicide is also quite
popular when it comes to non-agricultural weeding for some specific areas, such
as airports, pastures and sewers.
However, such
an efficient herbicide has been found to be highly toxic to humans. And there is
no known antidote to the deadly poison. Hence, paraquat has been restricted in
more than 20 countries in the world and China is one of them.
China legislates against paraquat: no more paraquat
products in Chinese market from 2020
In spite of
a non-selective herbicide, paraquat is deadly to human health. Once a person
accidentally takes paraquat orally, he has a tiny chance to survive and is more
likely to die quickly. What’s worse, an antidote for paraquat has not yet been
found globally. Concerning all the facts above, an increasing voice of
forbidding paraquat in China has aroused. For the sake of people’s health and
safety, the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture has been paying more attention to
paraquat in the recent years. Therefore, strict restriction regarding the
pesticide registration, production, sales and management of paraquat has been
made.
First of
all, registration of paraquat products is no longer approved since 2012. Upon
the arrival of the notice of No. 1745 issued by the Chinese government in 2012,
registration and production permit of paraquat have been revoked in the
country. Since July 1, 2016, selling and using paraquat in China has been
stopped. According to the notice of 2445 issued by the Chinese Ministry of
Agriculture in 2016, China has stopped approving and extending the pesticide
registration for paraquat.
Secondly, paraquat
will be fully forbidden in China from 2020. Red Sun was the last company that
still sold paraquat in China. The relevant product expired on September 25,
2018 without any further extension of its pesticide registration. It is reported
that there will be no more activities concerning sales and utilization of paraquat
products in the Chinese market after September 25, 2020.
For more
information about China’s herbicides market, please have a look at our monthly
newsletter Herbicides
China News.