Sustained Growth of Prochloraz Demand     

By Zhang Weinong, Pesticide Market News   

Prochloraz is a highly effective, broad spectrum fungicide with low toxicity, remarkably effective on crop diseases caused by imperfect fungi. It can also be blended with most fungicides, insecticides and herbicides for satisfactory disease control. Nearly 10 enterprises such as Jiangsu Huifeng Agrochemical Co., Ltd., Zhejiang Rosi Chemical Co., Ltd., Nanjing Redsun Group Co., Ltd., Nantong Jiangshan Agrochemical & Chemicals Co., Ltd., Hangzhou Qingfeng Agrochemical Co., Ltd. and Shenyang Research Institute of Chemical Industry have registered to produce prochloraz technical and prochloraz-manganese chloride technical. Bayer of Germany has also registered to produce prochloraz technical and formulations in China. Eight enterprises have registered to produce 50% prochloraz and prochloraz-manganese wettable powder. Six enterprises have registered to produce 45% prochloraz micro emulsion and aqueous solution. Forty five enterprises have registered to produce 25% prochloraz emulsion oil. Some enterprises have registered to produce 1.5% prochloraz water emulsion seed coating agent and 0.5% prochloraz suspension seed coating agent. Thirty nine enterprises have registered to produce prochloraz compound formulations.
   The demand for prochloraz in China has grown constantly in recent years. Both the export value and volume are also higher than before. Nevertheless, the production of prochloraz needs phosgene as raw material. The output of phosgene in China is quite low. Since the 10 000 t/a phosgene unit of Jiangsu Kaijiang Agrochemical Co., Ltd., a large phosgene producer, shut down in 2008, phosgene resources have been in even shorter supply. The output of prochloraz has been therefore restricted. According to statistics, China has the capacity to make around 8 000 t/a (counting on 100% active ingredient) of prochloraz technical, the domestic demand is around 3 000 tons and the export volume is close to 2 000 tons. Jiangsu Huifeng Agrochemical Co., Ltd. is the enterprise with the highest output of prochloraz technical in China. The company has strengthened technical renovation through its cooperation with China University of Agriculture. The purity of prochloraz technical in the company has reached more than 98.5% and the capacity to make prochloraz technical product has reached 4 200 t/a. The company has also developed quite a few derivatives of the prochloraz technical and formulations such as prochloraz-copper chloride and prochloraz-zinc chloride and owns the intellectual property rights for them. As the company has achieved large-scale production and has reduced production costs, the price of prochloraz technical was RMB46 000 per ton by the end of 2009, being the lowest in the domestic market, and the price of prochloraz technical in Nanjing Redsun Group Co., Ltd. and Nantong Jiangshan Agrochemical & Chemicals Co., Ltd. was RMB52 000-63 000 per ton.
   As prochloraz is satisfactory for rice disease control, its demand has increased continually. Rice is the biggest farm crop in China with a planting area of over 330 billion hectares, accounting for around 30% of the total grain crop planting area. When used in rice, prochloraz has the following effects.
    (a) It is used in seed soaking to control various rice diseases such as Bakanae byo, blast, sheath blight and green smut.
    (b) It is sprayed in the rice growth period to control diseases such as blast, sheath blight and green smut.
    (c) It is blended with tricyclazole, isoprothiolane, ethylicin, thiophanate-methyl and jinggangmycin to control rice diseases such as blast and sheath blight.
    (d) In areas where blast bacteria have developed resistance to isoprothiolane and iprobenfos the use or the alternate use of prochloraz and its compound formulations can have better and more stable effects. Prochloraz has a considerable development space in both domestic and overseas markets. Some enterprises in China have done a lot of effective work in the expansion of potential markets. For example, the patented product 42% prochloraz/thiophanate-methyl wettable powder of Jiangsu Lvdun Plant Protection Agrochemical Experimental Co., Ltd. is remarkably effective in inhibiting the mycelium growth of various rice fungi. Field tests prove that using 900g of the product per hectare can control 93.6% of head blight in wheat. The use of the product in proper periods can also have satisfactory effects on sheath blight and green smut in rice. The company has also blended prochloraz with jinggangmycin, and the product also has satisfactory effect on sheath blight and green smut in rice. In addition, Shenzhen Noposion Agrochemical Co., Ltd., Changshu Yinong Farming Chemistry Co., Ltd. and Jiangxi Jinnong Chemical Co., Ltd. have blended prochloraz with tricyclazole. Anhui Haicheng Biochemical Co., Ltd. and Changchun Changshuang Pesticide Co., Ltd. have blended prochloraz with isoprothiolane. Henan Kaifeng Tianwei Biochemical Co., Ltd. has blended prochloraz with ethylicin. These products all have satisfactory effect on sheath blight and green smut in rice.
   In spite of brisk sales, compared with conventional major varieties such as tricyclazole, isoprothiolane and iprobenfos the systemic conduction action of prochloraz is relatively low and the price is quite high. The application of prochloraz is therefore affected to a certain extent.