This Week’s Pesticide Price Update: August 2026 – Index Trends, Product Movements and Market Insights

As of the first week of August 2026, the global agrochemical market has entered its traditional summer off-season, presenting a landscape of stable overall prices, tight supply for high-demand varieties, and cautious downstream procurement. The latest official data from China Agrochemical Distribution Association paints a clear picture of current market dynamics, where cost-side support, seasonal demand shifts and export order flows are collectively shaping the weekly price trends for both technical materials and formulated pesticide products.

Weekly Pesticide Price Index Snapshot

On August 2, 2026, the national comprehensive pesticide technical material price index stood at 71.74 points, marking a 3.74% year-on-year decline and a 2.80% month-on-month drop. Breaking down by major categories, the herbicide technical material index came in at 80.97 points, down 4.00% year on year and 3.46% month on month; the insecticide technical material index reached 64.21 points, falling 2.95% year on year and 2.19% month on month; while the fungicide index remained relatively resilient, with only a minor month-on-month dip driven by steady off-season replenishment demand.

Looking deeper into the index structure, 65% of the tracked products recorded year-on-year price decreases, 11% stayed flat, and 24% posted positive year-on-year growth. On a sequential weekly basis, 40% of products saw slight price corrections, 57% held their prices steady, and only 3% managed marginal gains. This data confirms that the market is currently in a classic off-season consolidation phase, with most prices hovering near their production cost lines, leaving very limited room for further downward adjustments.

Key Herbicide Price Movements This Week

The herbicide segment, the largest by market volume, saw the most notable supply tightness concentrated in high-efficiency, low-residue varieties this week. Glyphosate technical material maintained firm factory quotations, with 95% content priced at RMB 26,000 per ton and 97% content at RMB 26,500 per ton, backed by strong raw material cost support and steady export order inflows. Glufosinate-ammonium continued its multi-week supply crunch, with factories fully booked for production and spot quotations holding firm at RMB 50,000 per ton, while refined glufosinate-ammonium the trend with tight supply and a RMB 60,000 per ton 100% active ingredient quotation.

Other key herbicides presented mixed trends: diquat technical material saw its cost support weaken as bromine raw material prices declined, with factory quotations settling at RMB 18,500 per ton. Cyhalofop-butyl technical material was quoted at RMB 102,000 per ton, while metamifop maintained a stable market price of RMB 160,000 per ton. For the sulfonylurea category, nicosulfuron was priced at RMB 154,000 per ton, bensulfuron-methyl at RMB 150,000 per ton, and bispyribac-sodium remained at a high level of RMB 360,000 per ton. Products like acetochlor, atrazine and butachlor all stayed at stable price points around RMB 20,000 per ton, as domestic summer rice and corn application seasons came to an end.

Insecticide Price Trends: Tight Supply for High-Efficiency Varieties

The insecticide market this week was defined by diverging price performances across different product lines. Chlorantraniliprole technical material saw its market quotation rise to RMB 225,000 per ton, driven by tightened raw material production regulations and insufficient effective capacity release. The abamectin series continued its upward trend, with abamectin technical powder quoted at RMB 370,000 per ton, and emamectin benzoate technical material reaching RMB 550,000 per ton, as upstream manufacturers maintained tight production scheduling and channel low-priced inventories were fully cleared.

For pyrethroid products, high-efficiency cyhalothrin technical material saw a slight market correction to RMB 106,000 per ton amid scattered end-user replenishment, while cypermethrin maintained tight spot supply with quotations at RMB 88,000 per ton. Neonicotinoid products remained at relatively low price levels: imidacloprid was priced at RMB 72,000 per ton, acetamiprid at RMB 58,000 per ton, and thiamethoxam at RMB 54,000 per ton, all under persistent cost pressure. Spirotetramat, a key systemic insecticide for piercing-sucking pests, saw its quotation rise to RMB 450,000 per ton this week, as both domestic and overseas demand started to pick up and manufacturers reduced operating rates to control inventory.

Fungicides and Formulated Products: Steady Off-Season Performance

The fungicide segment maintained the most stable price trend this week, with no major sharp fluctuations across mainstream products. Difenoconazole technical material was quoted at RMB 92,000 per ton, propiconazole at RMB 73,000 per ton, and tebuconazole at RMB 50,500 per ton, all supported by steady domestic and export replenishment demand. Tricyclazole saw tight spot supply with quotations at RMB 60,000 per ton, while prothioconazole, a fast-growing new fungicide variety, stayed at RMB 130,000 per ton amid intensifying market competition.

For formulated pesticide products sold directly to end-users, prices remained largely stable this week. Common 1-liter liquid pesticide formulations were priced around USD 2.2, while 99% high-purity organic synthetic pesticide products for industrial use had a reference price of approximately USD 4.4 per kilogram. Microcapsule suspension formulations of lambda-cyhalothrin, known for long-lasting efficacy, maintained a reference price of around USD 33 per liter, while water-based, zero-VOC eco-friendly pesticide formulations were priced at approximately USD 6.2 per kilogram, seeing growing popularity among environmentally conscious farmers.

Market Outlook for the Coming Weeks

Looking ahead from this week’s price data, the pesticide market will continue its off-season consolidation in the short term, with overall prices remaining range-bound and lacking strong upward momentum. However, as the Q4 autumn crop protection season approaches and the annual peak export shipment window opens, downstream procurement demand will gradually pick up, which will drive a new round of market transactions. For agrochemical distributors and large-scale farming operations, this current low-inventory, low-price window is a strategic opportunity to lock in cost-effective spot supplies, especially for those tight-supply varieties like glufosinate-ammonium, chlorantraniliprole and spirotetramat that have limited room for further price drops.

This week’s price movements clearly show that the pesticide market has passed its most severe downward cycle. With upstream manufacturers actively cutting production to reduce inventory pressure, the market supply-demand balance is gradually improving, laying a solid foundation for a stable and healthy market performance in the second half of 2026.