As April begins, the pesticide technical market has launched a full-scale rally under the dual impact of global supply chain disruptions and surging raw material costs. Geopolitical conflicts continue to roil the global energy supply chain, increasing volatility in crude oil and other basic feedstocks, driving up intermediate prices and triggering a broad-based rise in technical material prices.
Data shows that as of March 29, the herbicide technical price index stood at 87.86 points, up 11.50% year-on-year and a sharp 13.39% month-on-month. The insecticide technical price index rose 8.90% year-on-year and 11.50% month-on-month.
More than 37 mainstream technical products—including glyphosate, chlorantraniliprole, abamectin, and propiconazole—have seen prices rise across the board, creating a rare market pattern of broad, fast, and strong gains.
Supply Shortages Reshape Supply-Demand Balance
Supply contraction is the core driver of this round of price hikes. Geopolitical conflicts have not only pushed up costs for crude oil and basic chemical feedstocks but also directly tightened supplies of key intermediates such as bromine, pushing diquat mother liquor prices above 22,000 yuan per ton.
Domestic workplace safety supervision has entered a strict enforcement phase, with tightened controls on high-risk processes such as nitration, restraining capacity expansion for related technical materials.
The fallout from an explosion at a key intermediate plant in Shanxi continues to escalate: chlorantraniliprole has soared to 300,000 yuan per ton. Meanwhile, the abamectin industry has launched a rectification campaign, leading major producers to raise prices collectively, with refined abamectin reaching 480,000 yuan per ton and market supplies tightening significantly. Multiple supply shocks have fundamentally restructured the market’s supply-demand balance.
Rapid Cost Transmission Reinforces Price Rises
Cost pressures are accelerating down the industrial chain, forming a solid foundation for price increases. Rising energy costs are passing downstream at an unprecedented rate, magnifying pressure at every stage—from crude oil to basic chemicals and pesticide intermediates.
Propachlor and butachlor have risen to 35,000 yuan/ton and 20,000 yuan/ton respectively, driven by higher costs of feedstock DEA. Clethodim has reached 82,000 yuan/ton amid rapid raw material inflation. Propionic acid, a key intermediate for cyhalofop-butyl, has been suspended from quotation as manufacturers face severe cost pressure. Until energy pressures ease, cost-driven price hikes remain a necessity for technical producers.
Peak Season Demand Supports Upward Price Momentum
The Northern Hemisphere has entered a critical spring planting and stocking period, with simultaneous surges in domestic and export demand. Low-priced inventories in downstream channels have been largely depleted, fueling strong restocking demand.
Amid a “buy-rise, sell-fall” mentality and rigid agrochemical demand, a positive feedback loop has formed: cost-push increases→demand follows through. Tight supplies have lifted propiconazole to 80,000 yuan/ton and trifloxystrobin to 200,000 yuan/ton, underscoring robust demand support.
Outlook: Strong Momentum to Continue, Product Divergence to Widen
Industry insiders note the strength and sustainability of this rally will depend on three key variables:
Geopolitical conditions and global energy prices, which define the cost ceiling;
The intensity and duration of domestic controls on high-risk processes, which shape the pace of supply gap repair;
End-market price tolerance and demand resilience, which test the durability of the bullish narrative.
Under the new normal of high costs, tight supply, and strong demand, the technical material market is expected to remain strong in the short term, with growing divergence among products. Industry participants are advised to improve supply chain resilience and build dynamic inventory systems to adapt to the profound restructuring of the sector.
