# Herbicides: Production

How China came to dominate generic weedkiller supply

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/herbicides/production/

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; indicative

#### Largest 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)](https://www.agrimarketing.com/s/153063) |
| **Bayer Crop Science** Roundup (glyphosate); large US litigation costs | Germany | 12 $ billion crop protection sales | 2024 | [AgroPages via AgriMarketing (Mar 2025)](https://www.agrimarketing.com/s/153063) |
| **BASF Agricultural Solutions** Liberty (glufosinate, bought from Bayer 2018), saflufenacil | Germany | 9 $ billion crop protection sales | 2024 | [AgroPages via AgriMarketing (Mar 2025)](https://www.agrimarketing.com/s/153063) |
| **Corteva Agriscience** Enlist (2,4-D choline), Arylex | US | 7.3 $ billion crop protection sales | 2024 | [AgroPages via AgriMarketing (Mar 2025)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1755672/000175567226000004/ctva-20251231.htm) |
| **UPL** named among top five; large generic herbicide portfolio | India | not published | 2024 | [AgroPages via AgriMarketing (Mar 2025)](https://www.upl-ltd.com) |
| **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)](https://www.upl-ltd.com) |
| **Rallis India (Tata)** herbicide technicals and formulations; capacity not published | India | not published | 2025 | [HNY Research company list (2026)](https://www.rallis.com) |
| **Bharat Rasayan** technicals including herbicides such as metribuzin (indicative) | India | not published | 2025 | [company](https://www.bharatrasayan.com) |
| **Dhanuka Agritech** formulator with in-licensed Japanese herbicides; building technical capacity at Dahej (indicative) | India | not published | 2025 | [Rubix via Global Agriculture (2025)](https://www.dhanuka.com) |
| **Sharda Cropchem** asset-light: holds registrations in Europe and Latin America and buys technicals mostly from China (indicative) | India | not published | 2025 | [company](https://www.shardacropchem.com) |

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. |

## Other sections

- [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/herbicides/index.md)
- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/herbicides/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/herbicides/correlation/index.md)
- [Production route](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/herbicides/routes/index.md)
- [Feedstocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/herbicides/feedstocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/herbicides/cycles/index.md)
- [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/herbicides/trading/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/herbicides/movement/index.md)
- [Regulation](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/herbicides/regulation/index.md)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/herbicides/characteristics/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/herbicides/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/herbicides/links/index.md)