Herbicides: Production
How China came to dominate generic weedkiller supply
What this tab covers Who makes it and how much: world capacity and output, utilisation, the top producing countries and companies globally and in India, concentration, new capacity coming, and each region's position.| Measure | Figure | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| World capacity | not published for all herbicides; glyphosate about 1.1 Mt/yr (2021), glufosinate 155 kt/yr (2025) | Bichos de Campo (Nov 2021); CCM (2025) | |
| World output | about 1.8-2.0 Mt a.i. used a year (indicative) | FAOSTAT pesticide use 2022 (indicative) | |
| Capacity utilisation | not published | Chinese glufosinate capacity tripled from 2021 to 2025 while prices fell about 87%, which points to low utilisation. Glyphosate plants ran hard in 2021 until Chinese 'dual control' energy curbs in September 2021 cut operating rates (China Agrochemical Insights). | CCM 2025; China Agrochemical Insights (Jul 2022) |
| Concentration | China probably about 60% of generic technical output (indicative); top four crop protection companies had about $42 billion of 2024 sales | Syngenta $13.6 billion, Bayer $12 billion, BASF $9 billion and Corteva $7.3 billion of crop protection sales in 2024, about half of the world market (AgroPages 2025). In herbicides Bayer leads through glyphosate and Syngenta through S-metolachlor, mesotrione and paraquat. | AgroPages via AgriMarketing (Mar 2025) |
| New capacity | glufosinate capacity grew from 52 kt/yr (2021) to 155 kt/yr (2025); Chinese glyphosate additions are limited by permits (indicative) | Indian makers are adding herbicide technical capacity at Dahej, Jhagadia and Saykha; L-glufosinate plants are being built in China (indicative). | CCM 2025; indicative |
Top producing countries
China 60% · about 700 kt/yr glyphosate capacity alone (2021) and most generic herbicide technicals (indicative) United States 12% · Bayer glyphosate (over 370 kt/yr), Corteva and Syngenta plants (indicative) India 8% · UPL, Rallis, Bharat Rasayan, Gharda, Meghmani and others; herbicide exports grew about 20% a year FY2020-FY2025 European Union 8% · BASF, Bayer, Syngenta, Nufarm and ADAMA plants (indicative) Brazil, Argentina and others 12% · mainly formulation, plus some technical (indicative) Bichos de Campo (Nov 2021); share indicative; China Agrochemical Insights (2022); share indicative; Rubix (2025); share indicative; indicativeLargest producers: global
| Company | Country | Volume | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Syngenta Group owned by ChemChina/Sinochem; includes ADAMA in group | China/Switzerland | 13.6 $ billion crop protection sales (all classes) | 2024 | AgroPages via AgriMarketing (Mar 2025) |
| Bayer Crop Science Roundup (glyphosate); large US litigation costs | Germany | 12 $ billion crop protection sales | 2024 | AgroPages via AgriMarketing (Mar 2025) |
| BASF Agricultural Solutions Liberty (glufosinate, bought from Bayer 2018), saflufenacil | Germany | 9 $ billion crop protection sales | 2024 | AgroPages via AgriMarketing (Mar 2025) |
| Corteva Agriscience Enlist (2,4-D choline), Arylex | US | 7.3 $ billion crop protection sales | 2024 | AgroPages via AgriMarketing (Mar 2025) |
| UPL named among top five; large generic herbicide portfolio | India | not published | 2024 | AgroPages via AgriMarketing (Mar 2025) |
| Hubei Xingfa Chemicals integrated from phosphate rock and yellow phosphorus (indicative) | China | not published | 2025 | CCM (indicative) |
| Zhejiang Wynca (Xin'an Chemical) glyphosate linked to silicone by-product methyl chloride (indicative) | China | not published | 2025 | HNY Research via DRI (2026) company list |
| Sichuan Fuhua Tongda a 2020 flood at its Sichuan plant helped trigger the 2021 shortage | China | not published | 2025 | Western Producer (Aug 2021); HNY Research company list |
Largest producers: India
| Company | Country | Volume | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UPL group revenue about Rs 53,576 crore FY2023, Rs 43,098 crore FY2024 and Rs 46,637 crore FY2025 (indicative); herbicides a large share | India | not published | FY2025 | UPL annual reports (indicative) |
| Rallis India (Tata) herbicide technicals and formulations; capacity not published | India | not published | 2025 | HNY Research company list (2026) |
| Bharat Rasayan technicals including herbicides such as metribuzin (indicative) | India | not published | 2025 | company |
| Dhanuka Agritech formulator with in-licensed Japanese herbicides; building technical capacity at Dahej (indicative) | India | not published | 2025 | Rubix via Global Agriculture (2025) |
| Sharda Cropchem asset-light: holds registrations in Europe and Latin America and buys technicals mostly from China (indicative) | India | not published | 2025 | company |
India's agrochemical market was $11.2 billion in FY2025 (Rubix). India makes many herbicide technicals but still imports a large share of technicals and intermediates from China, often put at around 60% of technical imports (indicative).
Position by region
| Region | Position |
|---|---|
| US | Largest single herbicide user after Brazil; glyphosate and dicamba litigation shapes products. Bayer is the main domestic glyphosate maker. |
| EU | Glyphosate renewed in November 2023 for 10 years; atrazine and paraquat banned; Farm to Fork aimed to halve pesticide use by 2030 but the proposal was withdrawn in 2024 (indicative). |
| India | Fast-growing herbicide use as farm labour gets scarcer and direct-seeded rice spreads; glyphosate restricted to licensed pest control operators since October 2022 (indicative). |
| China | Dominant technical supplier; energy and environmental campaigns can cut supply suddenly, as in September 2021. |
| Japan | Second-largest destination for Indian herbicide exports in FY2025, ahead of Brazil (Rubix 2025). |
| Middle East | Small market; no major herbicide technical producers. |