2024 National Fertilizer Sampling Report: The main reasons for non-compliance include excessive heavy metals and other factors.
Recently, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs released a report on the quality supervision and random inspection of fertilizers in 2024. The results indicate that the overall compliance rate for organic fertilizers, water-soluble fertilizers, and microbial fertilizers across 24 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) is 85.9%.
The main reasons for non-compliance in chemical fertilizers include insufficient organic matter content, excessive heavy metal levels, inadequate trace elements, insufficient viable microbial counts, and excessive rates of contaminants.
According to the findings, among the non-compliant fertilizers, there are some “problematic fertilizers” with low effective nutrient content and even “fake fertilizers” that contain no effective nutrients at all.
The report states that the inspections were conducted in fertilizer production enterprises and agricultural material markets in 24 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) including Beijing, Hebei, Inner Mongolia, and Liaoning. A total of 270 samples of organic fertilizers, water-soluble fertilizers, and microbial fertilizers were collected, with a sampling base of 656.1 tons, involving 241 production and distribution enterprises (including individual merchants).
The results show that out of the 270 fertilizer samples inspected, 232 were compliant, resulting in an overall compliance rate of 85.9%. Among these, 125 samples of organic fertilizers were tested, with 104 compliant, yielding a compliance rate of 83.2%; 56 samples of water-soluble fertilizers were tested, with 44 compliant, resulting in a compliance rate of 78.6%; and 89 samples of microbial fertilizers were tested, with 84 compliant, achieving a compliance rate of 94.4%.
The reasons for non-compliance in organic fertilizers primarily include insufficient organic matter content, excessive acidity or alkalinity (pH), and high levels of heavy metals. For instance, the organic fertilizer “Woxinfeng” (registration number: Gan Nong Fei (2017) Zhun Zi F0009), produced by Fuzhou Wofeng Organic Fertilizer Plant on March 28, 2024, was inspected in Wenquan Town, Linchuan District, Fuzhou City, Jiangxi Province. The results showed that its total arsenic (As), total lead (Pb), and total cadmium (Cd) levels far exceeded the standard requirements.
The reasons for non-compliance in water-soluble fertilizers mainly involve insufficient levels of trace and macronutrients. For example, the “Youli” medium element water-soluble fertilizer (registration number: ZLSRHEN2021-04288), produced by Zhengyang Yuanye Technology Co., Ltd. on June 10, 2023, was inspected near the nursing home in Tuan Tou Village, Taoyuan Town, Feicheng City, Shandong Province. The standard requires medium element levels to be no less than 100g/L, but no medium element content was detected during the inspection.
For microbial fertilizers, the main reasons for non-compliance include insufficient viable microbial counts and excessive rates of contaminants. For instance, the “Shanggu Yuanwo” biological organic fertilizer produced by Handan Yuanwo Fertilizer Technology Co., Ltd. on April 17, 2024, showed no detectable viable microbial counts (Bacillus subtilis) during inspection—according to standards, the viable count must not be less than 0.20 billion/g. The inspection was conducted in Shanggu Village, Jiangyan District, Handan City, Hebei Province.
Another example is the “Rhizobium inoculant” (registration number: Microbial Fertilizer (2020) Zhun Zi (8845)), produced by Huachuang Jianong Biotechnology (Wuhan) Co., Ltd. on April 18, 2024, inspected at the College of Life Sciences, Huazhong Agricultural University in Wuhan, Hubei Province. The product was claimed to contain over 2 billion/mL of viable microbes, but no viable counts were detected during inspection. Additionally, the contaminant rate was found to be as high as 100%, while the standard requires it to be no more than 10.0%. Re-inspection results showed that the viable count for this batch was 0.1 billion/mL, with a contaminant rate of 53.3%.
In response to these findings, the General Office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has instructed provinces to report the results of investigations into non-compliant product manufacturers and provincial fertilizer quality supervision inspections to the Department of Crop Production Management by February 14, 2025. The instructions include:
1. Strictly investigate and urge non-compliant enterprises to rectify their issues. Local authorities must promptly gather evidence for non-compliant products identified during inspections and take legal action against manufacturers of non-compliant organic fertilizers, water-soluble fertilizers, and microbial fertilizers, mandating rectification within a specified timeframe.
2. Strengthen follow-up supervision and disposal of non-compliant products. Relevant agricultural departments in provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) should prioritize monitoring non-compliant fertilizer manufacturers, implement effective measures to purify the fertilizer market environment, and ensure the safety of fertilizers used by farmers. For products that consistently fail to meet quality standards, registration will not be renewed upon expiration, in accordance with the Fertilizer Registration Management Measures.
