China Plant Growth Regulators (PGRs) Market By Type (Auxin, Gibberellin, Cytokinin, Others), By Crop Type (Fruits & Vegetables, Cereals & Grains, Oilseeds & Pulses, Turf & Ornamentals), By Function (Stimulators, Promotors, Inhibitors, Retardants), By Formulation (Water-Dispersible & Water-Soluble Granules, Solutions, Wettable Powders, Tablets), By Region, Competition, Forecast & Opportunities, 2021-2031F

Forecast Period	2027-2031
Market Size (2025)	USD 121.23 Million
CAGR (2026-2031)	7.13%
Fastest Growing Segment	Auxin
Largest Market	South-Central China
Market Size (2031)	USD 183.26 Million

Market Overview

The China Plant Growth Regulators (PGRs) Market will grow from USD 121.23 Million in 2025 to USD 183.26 Million by 2031 at a 7.13% CAGR. Plant growth regulators (PGRs) are specialized chemical or biological substances capable of modifying the physiological processes of plants, such as inhibiting or stimulating growth, to optimize crop development and enhance resilience. The expansion of this market in China is primarily supported by the urgent national mandate for food security, which necessitates higher crop yields and quality from limited arable land. Furthermore, the rapid modernization of China’s agricultural sector, characterized by the increasing adoption of precision farming and aerial application via drones, drives the demand for efficient, labor-saving chemical inputs. According to the Institute for the Control of Agrochemicals, Ministry of Agriculture (ICAMA), in 2024, plant growth regulators maintained a significant presence in the sector, ranking as the fourth largest category of approved Technical Grade Active Ingredients (TGAIs) registrations after herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides.

Despite these positive momentum factors, the market faces a significant challenge arising from stringent environmental regulations and the consolidation of the industry. The Chinese government’s rigorous implementation of safety standards and the "One Certificate for One Product" policy aim to eliminate low-quality generic products, thereby increasing compliance costs and lengthening the time-to-market for new formulations. This regulatory tightening compels manufacturers to invest heavily in toxicological testing and eco-friendly innovation, creating a barrier that may impede rapid market expansion for smaller enterprises lacking substantial capital. Consequently, while the demand for high-efficacy solutions remains strong, the supply landscape is becoming increasingly constrained and competitive for existing market players.

Key Market Drivers

Government strategic support for agricultural modernization and food security acts as the primary catalyst for the China Plant Growth Regulators (PGRs) market. The central government’s unwavering commitment to self-sufficiency has led to the implementation of policies such as the "New Round of Hundred Billion Kilogram Grain Capacity Enhancement Action," which directly incentivizes the use of yield-optimizing inputs. To meet ambitious national targets without expanding arable land, farmers are increasingly relying on PGRs to improve crop stand, lodging resistance, and stress tolerance in staple crops like wheat and corn. This push is quantified by the sector's recent output; according to the National Bureau of Statistics, December 2024, China’s total grain production reached a record high of 706.5 million tonnes in 2024, a milestone that underscores the critical role of chemical crop management in sustaining productivity growth. This state-driven pressure ensures a stable baseline demand for high-performance regulators across the country's major grain-producing regions.

The rapid adoption of precision agriculture, particularly the deployment of agricultural drones, is structurally reshaping the market by necessitating specialized, high-concentration PGR formulations. As rural labor shortages intensify, the shift from manual spraying to aerial application has accelerated, demanding low-volume, high-efficacy products compatible with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). This technological shift not only improves application efficiency but also expands the addressable market for PGRs into later crop growth stages where manual access is difficult. According to Farmers' Daily and DJI Agriculture, August 2025, in the 'White Paper on the Agricultural Drone Industry (2024/2025)', agricultural drones in China performed operations covering over 173 million hectares in 2024, reflecting a massive scale-up in mechanized crop protection. Furthermore, the infrastructure supporting this modernization is expanding; according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, in 2024, the country had cumulatively developed over 1 billion mu of high-standard farmland, creating a consolidated foundation for the advanced application of these growth-regulating technologies.

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Key Market Challenges

The stringent environmental regulations and the consolidation of the industry, particularly through the implementation of the "One Certificate for One Product" policy, constitute the primary challenge hampering the growth of the China Plant Growth Regulators (PGRs) market. This regulatory framework compels manufacturers to incur substantially higher compliance costs and dedicate extensive resources to mandatory toxicological testing, which directly erodes profit margins. As the government rigorously eliminates low-quality generic products to meet safety standards, smaller enterprises lacking the necessary capital for eco-friendly innovation and extended regulatory approval processes are forced to exit the market, thereby reducing overall production capacity and tightening supply.

The direct impact of these heightened barriers to entry is evident in the sharply reduced rate of new product introductions, which limits market dynamism and options for growers. The difficulty in navigating this complex regulatory landscape is reflected in recent approval statistics. According to the CIRS Group, in 2024, only 12 new pesticide active ingredients were registered in China. This low number of new approvals, relative to the market's vast size, underscores the significant stagnation in product innovation and the lengthened time-to-market caused by the regulatory tightening, effectively constraining the industry's potential for rapid expansion.

Key Market Trends

A distinct shift from synthetic chemicals toward biological PGRs is occurring, driven by stricter environmental regulations and consumer demand for residue-free produce. Manufacturers are increasingly launching microbial and plant-extract-based biostimulants that offer dual benefits of growth regulation and stress tolerance. This transition is evident in recent regulatory approvals, which favor eco-friendly innovations over traditional chemistries. According to EssenceChem, March 2025, in the '2024 Chinese Agrochemical Market Overview', new biopesticides accounted for 62.5% of the newly registered pesticide offerings in China in 2024, underscoring the industry's decisive pivot toward biological solutions to meet green development mandates.

Facing domestic overcapacity and trade barriers in traditional Western markets, Chinese PGR manufacturers are aggressively diversifying their export strategies. There is a marked trend of targeting agricultural markets in Southeast Asia, South America, and Africa along the "Belt and Road" initiative routes to offload excess production. This push is characterized by a surge in export volumes as companies seek to balance domestic saturation with international demand. According to AgriBusiness Global, December 2024, in the article 'China Price Index: When Will the Turning Point Arrive for China's Pesticide Industry?', the volume of pesticide export goods from China increased by 26.8% year-on-year between January and August 2024, reaching 2.662 million metric tons.

Segmental Insights

According to recent market intelligence, the Auxin segment is widely identified as the fastest-growing category within the China Plant Growth Regulators (PGRs) Market. This rapid expansion is primarily driven by the country's strategic focus on maximizing agricultural yields and enhancing the quality of high-value crops, particularly fruits and vegetables. Producers are increasingly adopting Auxin-based formulations due to their superior efficacy in stimulating root initiation, cell elongation, and fruit setting. Furthermore, the rising implementation of precision agriculture, aligned with standards from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, continues to accelerate the demand for these essential plant hormones.

Regional Insights

South-Central China maintains a dominant position in the domestic plant growth regulators market due to its extensive cultivation of high-value cash crops, including citrus, vegetables, and rice. The region benefits from a favorable climate that supports multiple cropping cycles per year, necessitating frequent product application to optimize harvest timing and quality. Furthermore, the concentration of established agrochemical manufacturers in provinces like Henan provides a distinct supply chain advantage. Adherence to registration protocols enforced by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs further stabilizes the regional market by ensuring the consistent availability of compliant agricultural solutions.

Recent Developments

• In December 2024, Sichuan Guoguang Agrochemical Co., Ltd. signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement with the Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences to jointly establish the "Crop Quality Control Research Institute." The collaboration focuses on the research and development of critical crop regulation technologies and the investigation of action mechanisms for plant growth regulator products. By leveraging the Academy's scientific expertise and the company's commercial channels, the partnership aims to accelerate the integration and promotion of crop quality control solutions, facilitating the advancement of the domestic plant growth regulator industry.
• In May 2024, Zhengzhou Zhengshi Chemical Co., Ltd. achieved a significant regulatory milestone by obtaining the European Union equivalent registration approval for its Prohexadione calcium technical material. This approval validated the quality and compliance of the company's plant growth regulator products with stringent international standards. Prohexadione calcium is utilized to control vegetative growth in crops such as apples and rice, enhancing lodging resistance and yield. This development enables the company to strengthen its presence in the high-end international market while demonstrating its technical competitiveness in the global agrochemical sector.
• In February 2024, Chengdu Newsun Crop Science Co., Ltd. announced that its application for the "Creation and Industrialization of New Mechanisms and New Functional Plant Growth Regulators" project had been approved under the National 14th Five-Year Key R&D Plan. The initiative aims to address the industry's need for green plant growth regulators by utilizing molecular design to target hormone receptors and key metabolic enzymes. The company plans to employ gene editing and synthetic biology to establish green preparation processes and industrialization technologies, thereby supporting national food security and the modernization of agricultural production.
• In February 2024, Syngenta Group announced plans to construct a new global strategic production base in the Nantong Economic and Technological Development Zone. With a total investment of $112 million, the new facility is designed to manufacture advanced plant protection products, including plant growth regulators and natural bioactivators. The project focuses on creating a "lighthouse factory" for intelligent manufacturing, with construction scheduled to begin in 2024 and operations expected to commence by 2026. This expansion underscores the company's commitment to meeting the increasing demand for high-value agricultural formulations in the Chinese market.

Key Market Players

• Xinyi(H.K.) Industrial Co., Ltd
• Sichuan Guoguang Agrochemical Co., Ltd.
• China Biotech Agriculture CBA Co., Ltd.
• Shenzhen Sino-harvest Industry Co.,Ltd
• Jiangsu Longguang Chemical Co., Ltd.
• King Quenson Group
• BASF (China) Co., Ltd.
• Dow Chemical China Co., Ltd.
• Bayer (China) Co., Ltd.
• Hangzhou Foison Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd.

By Type	By Crop Type	By Function	By Formulation	By Region
Auxin Gibberellin Cytokinin Others	Fruits & Vegetables Cereals & Grains Oilseeds & Pulses Turf & Ornamentals	Stimulators Promotors Inhibitors Retardants	Water-Dispersible & Water-Soluble Granules Solutions Wettable Powders Tablets	North North-East East North-West South-Central South-West

Report Scope:

In this report, the China Plant Growth Regulators (PGRs) Market has been segmented into the following categories, in addition to the industry trends which have also been detailed below:

• China Plant Growth Regulators (PGRs) Market, By Type:

• Auxin
• Gibberellin
• Cytokinin
• Others

• China Plant Growth Regulators (PGRs) Market, By Crop Type:

• Fruits & Vegetables
• Cereals & Grains
• Oilseeds & Pulses
• Turf & Ornamentals

• China Plant Growth Regulators (PGRs) Market, By Function:

• Stimulators
• Promotors
• Inhibitors
• Retardants

• China Plant Growth Regulators (PGRs) Market, By Formulation:

• Water-Dispersible & Water-Soluble Granules
• Solutions
• Wettable Powders
• Tablets

• China Plant Growth Regulators (PGRs) Market, By Region:

• North
• North-East
• East
• North-West
• South-Central
• South-West