Tracing China’s agrochemical complex

Abstract

Chinese firms, both private and state-owned, have transformed the global agrochemical complex. China dominates exports of pesticides (particularly herbicides) and various kinds of nitrogen- and phosphorous-based fertilisers. And yet the precise nature of this transformation is poorly understood: where are Chinese agrochemicals made and by whom; in what ways is domestic production changing; which actors are active in the export market; and what is flowing where? In this article we begin to flesh out some of the detail of China’s massive agrochemical complex and its internal dynamics by examining key actors and flows in China’s agrochemical export industry. Our analysis is framed by insights drawn from the Global China literature and from pesticide studies. We find two distinct industries, both of which are in flux. Domestic environmental regulations and industry upgrading are reconfiguring the landscape for mining and chemical production, resulting in a scaling back of pesticide and fertiliser production, while mergers and acquisitions are concentrating production and export capacity in particular firms. Export flows are nonetheless growing in a generally favourable export environment. Concealed in the generic categories ‘pesticide’ and ‘fertiliser’ is the fact that different products go to different destinations and do so in patterns that complicate North-South categories. Our analysis highlights the need for new commodity geographies of Chinese-made agrochemicals that can account for production, circulation, and use.