21 September 2026, Beijing: China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA), through its Department of Crop Management, issued a notice on September 16, 2026, opening a public comment period on a draft “Internet Pesticide Negative List (2026 Edition),” a proposed catalogue of pesticide products that would be prohibited from sale through internet and e-commerce channels nationwide. The notice, numbered 农农（农药）〔2026〕51号, sets a comment deadline of September 30, 2026, and is addressed to provincial agriculture authorities, the China Pesticide Industry Association and the China Pesticide Development and Application Association.
According to the notice text, the purpose of the negative list is to strengthen oversight of pesticide sales conducted online, in support of agricultural product safety and environmental protection objectives under China’s existing pesticide management regulations. The list itself, which sets out the specific products and categories proposed for exclusion from online sale, is contained in an attached document rather than enumerated in the notice, and a narrow exception is carved out for pesticides used for public hygiene purposes, such as household insect control products, which would remain sellable online. Stakeholders can submit comments by email to pmd@agri.gov.cn, by fax, or by mail to the Department of Crop Management in Beijing.
The draft list is a concrete follow-on step from a broader special rectification campaign MARA launched in December 2025 targeting the online pesticide trade, which had directed provincial regulators and e-commerce platforms to tighten enforcement against unlicensed sellers and mislabeled or counterfeit products sold through digital channels. Where that campaign was largely an enforcement directive, the negative list represents MARA’s first move toward a defined, product-level rulebook for what can and cannot be sold online, which would give platforms, sellers and provincial regulators a much clearer compliance standard than a general enforcement campaign can provide.
China’s pesticide e-commerce market has grown rapidly alongside the broader rural e-commerce push, with platforms such as Pinduoduo, Taobao and specialized agricultural input marketplaces becoming an increasingly important sales channel for both branded and generic formulations, particularly in reaching smallholder farmers in regions with fewer physical agrochemical retail outlets. That growth has also drawn regulatory concern in China over counterfeit products, unclear provenance, and sales of restricted-use or highly toxic products without the oversight a licensed physical retailer would normally provide, concerns that mirror those raised in other major markets, including India, where CropLife India has separately pushed for tighter regulation of pesticide sales on digital platforms.
Once finalized, the negative list would apply to any pesticide product falling within its scope regardless of registration status, meaning a product that is legally registered and sellable through conventional retail channels in China could still be barred specifically from online sale if it appears on the list. This distinguishes the measure from a registration cancellation and positions it instead as a sales-channel restriction layered on top of existing registration rules.
Global Agriculture is an independent international media platform covering agri-business, policy, technology, and sustainability. For editorial collaborations, thought leadership, and strategic communications, write to pr@global-agriculture.com
