Chinese glyphosate exports surge

Date:08-11-2008

China’s Jiangsu province saw a “massive increase” in glyphosate herbicide exports in the first half of 2008. The province exported 1,120 tonnes of glyphosate in this period, according to statistics from the customs department in Nanjing. This was 14 times more than in the same period last year.
The exports had a total value of $13.6 million, some 46 times higher than last year. Glyphosate was exported mainly to Costa Rica (352 tonnes) and North America (304 tonnes). The average price of glyphosate exports from Jiangsu grew more than four-fold from $3,691/tonne last year to $12,100/tonne this year. About 70% of China’s domestically-produced glyphosate is exported.
Within the next five years, a number of projects to expand glyphosate production will be completed, adding a further 100,000 tonnes to China’s yearly capacity of 600,000 tonnes. Glyphosate is the world’s largest-selling agrochemical, with annual sales amounting to an estimated $3,800 million.