Spring returns to the earth, and it is another year of preparation. Right now, it should be the peak season for pesticide sales throughout the year, but the sudden outbreak of new crown pneumonia has affected domestic pesticide production and sales. Recently, the China Pesticide Industry Association has urgently carried out research work on major pesticide production enterprises in the country. The survey results show that the virus outbreak has brought five major problems to the pesticide industry and enterprises, such as blocked logistics and limited agricultural technology services.
First, logistics distribution was affected. The survey results show that due to the impact of traffic control , the failure to send some agricultural materials may lead to a shortage of agricultural materials in spring, making some crops miss the optimal time for medicine, and affecting spring cultivation in some areas in the short term.
In addition, the epidemic also affected the operating rate of enterprises, resulting in inadequate supply of upstream chemical raw materials, which will cause some pesticide companies to face challenges in the production and operation of enterprises that are mainly based on pharmaceutical production.
In addition, there will be some difficulties in bringing agricultural resources to the countryside. However, it is worth looking forward that with the release of the Central Document No. 1, the government is expected to issue a special protection policy for agricultural logistics in the future.
Second, there are hidden concerns about pest control. According to the forecast of the National Agricultural Technology Extension Service Center, the occurrence of major crop pests and diseases in China in 2020 will be heavier than in 2019, with a total area of approximately 4.5 billion mu. Taking rice planthopper as an example, it is estimated that the area will be about 300 million mu in 2020. Rice planthoppers commonly used insecticides nitenpyram and pymetrozine are mainly produced in Shandong, Jiangsu, Anhui and other places, with production capacity accounting for more than 70% of the country. Due to the impact of the epidemic, the resumption of work in enterprises in these areas has been postponed. If the required pesticides cannot be delivered to farmers in a timely manner during the infancy of the pests, it will become more difficult to control the disease later.
Third, agricultural technology services are restricted. Affected by the epidemic, field plant protection services have recently been near paralyzed in most areas. Organized by the Pesticides Association's Committee on Pesticides in Safety Science, a series of large-scale public welfare training activities on crop safety in agriculture series has been held in successive years since 2014, helping millions of farmers to disseminate knowledge on safe use of pesticides and achieved good practical results. Due to the impact of the epidemic this year, it will be postponed.
In addition, the salesmen of various manufacturers will go to markets around the country before the tenth day of the first month of the previous year, and wholesale retailers will also go to the field to carry out basic promotion such as order fairs and farmer training meetings. However, due to epidemic prevention and control this year, these activities could not be carried out.
Fourth, the operating costs of enterprises have increased. At present, the resumption time of enterprises in various places has been postponed, but daily maintenance costs such as house rents and electricity costs still need to be paid. During the period, employees' wages will be paid. If the epidemic situation is not effectively controlled within a short period of time, the operating costs of the enterprise will continue to increase. Especially some small and medium-sized enterprises, if the flow of funds breaks, it is very likely that they will not be able to survive.
Even if the company resumes work, it will be difficult to fully return to normal operations in the short term. It may face the following situations: due to local epidemic prevention policies, employees cannot be in place; raw materials procurement is blocked, production is difficult to return to normal; production capacity is limited, and product sales are affected; The goods of wholesale and retail enterprises cannot flow normally; sales staff will be quarantined when they return on business trips.
Fifth, the export of products is restricted. In the first half of 2019, China's total import and export of pesticides increased by only 2.4%, which was much lower than 8.3% in 2018. With the development of the epidemic, the WTO listed the new crown pneumonia epidemic as a public health emergency of international concern at the end of January. At least 93 countries have begun to adopt entry control or testing. These emergency measures may have a certain impact on China's pesticide exports.