Publication: China Chemical Reporter
Dicamba has several brand names, such as Banvel and Mediben. It was developed by the former Novartis in 1965 and was introduced into China in the 1990s. China has only a few companies producing dicamba active ingredient and formulations. Most of their output is exported.
Dicamba belongs to the benzoic acid family of herbicides. Within this family, 2,4-D and dicamba still occupy a certain position in the global pesticide market today and arc widely used around the world. In recent years, the global annual sales value of dicamba is around US$200 million. Dicamba has several brand names, such as Banvel and Mediben. It was developed by the former Novartis in 1965 and was introduced into China in the 1990s. China has only a few companies producing dicamba active ingredient and formulations. Most of their output is exported.
Compared to other herbicides, dicamba has a low dosage, only 142.5 grams per hectare. At its current market price, the cost of using dicamba is about RMB78 per hectare, more than 50% less than that of other herbicides with the same performance, and its environmental impact is relatively small. At present, due to the emergence of herbicide-resistant weeds, the efficiency of conventional herbicides is declining, and novel herbicides like dicamba are playing a minor but increasingly significant role in weed control.
In 1998, Zhejiang Shenghua Biok Biology Co Ltd (Shenghua Biok) took the lead in China to research the manufacture of dicamba. With a series of processes and new starting materials, it successfully developed dicamba in September 2000. After improving its production line, it began to commercially produce dicamba in March 2001 (300 t/a). So far, China has 10 dicamba active ingredient producers, including Shenghua Biok, Jiangsu Yangnong Chemical Co Ltd (Yangnong Chemical), Jiangsu Shenghua Pesticide Co Ltd (Shenghua Pesticide) and Jiangsu Institute of Ecomones Company Limited. Also Swiss Syngenta AG has registered in China to produce dicamba active ingredient. In China, producers of 48% dicamba aqueous solution include Shenghua Pesticide, Shanghai Hongbang Chemical Co Ltd, Shenghua Biok, Jiangsu Xingnong Agro-chemicals Co Ltd, Jiangsu Bailing Agro-chemical Co Ltd and Syngenta (Suzhou) Crop Protection Limited (Syngenta Suzhou). Shenghua Biok is currently China"s largest manufacturer of dicamba, with a dicamba active ingredient capacity of 1 300 t/a. Yangnong Chemical is the second largest, with a dicamba active ingredient capacity of 1 000 t/a. China"s total capacity to make dicamba active ingredient is about 3 000 t/a, but its actual output in 2009 was only 500 - 800 tons. China is home to about 20% of the global dicamba capacity, and it is highly export-oriented.
The dicamba market has great potential for development, but the production technology for dicamba is very sophisticated. Shenghua Biok"s synthesis route is innovative in high-temperature hydrolysis, liquid-phase high-pressure carboxylation and other steps. The dicamba active ingredient content of the company"s products reaches 96%. After refinement, the dicamba active ingredient content of its products can exceed 98%, but its production cost is only 60% of other dicamba producers, so its products are highly competitive. The company"s monthly dicamba output has grown from 30 tons to more than 80 tons while the production cost of these products has dropped by 30%. In 2009, the company produced 300 tons of dicamba active ingredient. Now, its total annual output of dicamba active ingredient and formulations can exceed 1 300 tons. Yangnong Chemical"s 1 000 t/a dicamba active ingredient project went into operation in early 2009. The company"s combined sales volume of dicamba active ingredient and formulations reached about 800 tons in 2009
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