In March 2025, the relevant policy announcements issued by the Ministry of Finance outlined a new direction for rural construction and agricultural development. Among the key initiatives, the third point—"advancing rural construction and governance in a solid and orderly manner, promoting green agricultural development and the improvement of rural living environments, supporting the adoption and推广 of thicker high-strength mulch films, fully biodegradable mulch films, and the comprehensive utilization of crop straw"—stood out as particularly noteworthy, closely linked to the development of the biodegradable plastics industry.From the policy perspective, the government is continuously increasing support for the promotion of thick, high-strength plastic film, fully biodegradable plastic film, and the comprehensive utilization of crop straw. On one hand, through financial subsidy policies, the government reduces the cost for farmers to purchase biodegradable film, enhancing their enthusiasm for using environmentally friendly film. On the other hand, it is consistently increasing research and development investment, encouraging research institutions and enterprises to tackle technological challenges related to biodegradable film, continuously optimizing product performance and lowering production costs. At the same time, the government actively organizes various publicity and education activities to raise farmers' awareness of environmentally friendly film and the comprehensive utilization of straw, guiding them to actively participate in agricultural green development initiatives.From an industry development perspective, degradable plastic companies are迎来了新的发展机遇。Enterprises should seize this opportunity, increase RD investment, continuously improve product quality, enhance the cost-effectiveness of degradable mulch films, and strengthen market competitiveness. Actively collaborate with agricultural departments and research institutions to conduct demonstration promotion projects for degradable mulch films, allowing farmers to see and experience firsthand the advantages of degradable mulch films, thereby accelerating their adoption in agricultural production. Additionally, enterprises must strengthen collaborative efforts with upstream and downstream industries to build a complete and efficient industrial chain, jointly promoting green agricultural development and the improvement of rural living environments. (Note: The sentence "迎来了新的发展机遇" was not fully translated as it was likely a placeholder or formatting error in the original text. It is recommended to revise this part for clarity.)With the continuous enhancement of societal environmental awareness and the acceleration of agricultural modernization, the promotion of high-strength thickened mulch films, fully biodegradable mulch films, and the comprehensive utilization of crop straw are bound to embrace a broader development prospect. It is believed that through the joint efforts of all parties, China's rural areas will surely achieve the synergistic progress of economic development and ecological protection, painting a new, more beautiful, livable, and prosperous rural landscape.

Recently, the inventory of polyethylene production enterprises in China has decreased by 6.68% compared to the previous period, and it has fallen by 24.04% from its peak this year. Enterprise proactive price reductions and inventory clearance, along with trade discounts, have led to simultaneous declines in inventory and prices. The spot market shows mixed trends; HDPE saw localized price increases due to plant maintenance causing supply shortages, but LLDPE continued to fall due to weak demand, with the main price dropping to 8,075 yuan per ton. The agricultural film market saw price drops to 9,500-10,000 yuan per ton for dual anti-film due to decreases in both raw material costs and orders, while enterprise raw material inventories also reduced. Looking ahead, the upcoming Qingming holiday may spur some essential replenishment purchases, but the release of new production capacity and the winding down of mulch film demand suggest that polyethylene prices are expected to oscillate within a 50-100 yuan per ton range. Agricultural film prices and operating rates are expected to remain stable.Figure 1 Comparison of Sample Inventory and Price Trends of Polyethylene Producers in China (CNY/ton, right axis: 10,000 tons)Recently, the sample inventory of polyethylene production enterprises in China has maintained a downward trend, falling by 6.68% month-on-month. Currently, the inventory of polyethylene production enterprises is at a medium-to-high level compared to the past year, down 24.04% from the year's peak and up 66.79% from the year's low. Production enterprises have actively reduced prices to destock, and traders have also offered discounts to boost sales, leading to improved transactions. Both the inventory and prices of production enterprises have declined, showing a positive correlation between the two.Domestic polyethylene spot market prices fluctuate, with changes ranging from 30 to 150 yuan per ton. This week.Polyethylene marketDue to device maintenance and production changes, the supply of some HDPE varieties is slightly tight, leading to a price increase. However, overall market demand is limited, and end-users show significant resistance to high-priced resources, which restricts further price increases. At the same time, new production capacity is gradually being released, resulting in a bearish market sentiment. Merchants maintain an active sales strategy, but transactions remain weak. In China,LLDPE marketPrices continue to fall, and at the end of the month, market resources are slightly tight. Although cost support remains strong, supply and demand are weak, and participants in the market lack confidence in the future. Most are maintaining active sales, while downstream purchasing efforts are slowing down, resulting in average transactions. The mainstream price for LLDPE Melt Index 2 film material is around 8,075 yuan per ton.Figure 2 Weekly Comparison of Agricultural Film Raw Material Inventory Days and North China Greenhouse Film Price (yuan/ton, right axis: days)The prices of raw materials fluctuated and declined, reducing the cost of agricultural film. Coupled with a decrease in accumulated orders, some companies lowered prices to retain orders, leading to a drop in agricultural film product prices. As of March 26, 2025, the mainstream price of double-layer mulch film in North China was 9,500-10,000 RMB per ton. During this period, the inventory days of agricultural film began to decline, and the prices of agricultural film products also fell due to the drop in raw material prices. In the short term, the raw material inventory of agricultural film enterprises and the price trend of agricultural film moved in the same direction.The cumulative orders for agricultural film have decreased, coupled with fluctuating and declining raw material prices. Film enterprises are cautiously observing the market and mainly purchasing based on orders, resulting in a slight reduction in overall inventory for agricultural film companies. By product category: the demand for greenhouse film is in its off-season, with limited order accumulation and weak raw material consumption, leading to low purchasing enthusiasm among enterprises. The inventory days of raw materials for greenhouse film companies have increased only slightly. For ground film, large-scale enterprises are still in their peak production season, but order follow-ups have decreased. Film enterprises are purchasing raw materials at low prices based on orders, resulting in a reduction in raw material inventory.**Outlook for the Coming Period:** While production remains stable for some large-scale mulch film enterprises, new order intake for small and medium-sized enterprises has slowed, and corporate procurement is expected to decline. However, as the Qingming holiday falls next week, some companies may advance purchases for holiday needs. Although the consumer market has driven some short-cycle new orders, the gradual delivery of these orders has weakened support for operational activity, and the operating rate may decline. From the supply perspective, maintenance-related production losses next week are expected to decrease by 47,700 tons compared to this week. Overall, while maintenance-related supply disruptions may increase next week, newly operational enterprises will gradually normalize production. Downstream demand is expected to remain steady with essential restocking, and polyethylene prices are likely to continue fluctuating within a range of 50–100 yuan/ton. With the slowdown in new mulch film orders, production in the sector is gradually winding down. Coupled with the off-season for greenhouse film demand, raw material support remains weak. Although some companies may advance purchases ahead of the Qingming holiday, overall agricultural film demand is limited, further weakening raw material support. Therefore, agricultural film production is expected to remain stable next week, with the mainstream price of double-layer mulch film in North China likely holding steady at 9,500–10,000 yuan/ton. (Personal opinion, for reference only)

Definition of agricultural film and industrial chain diagramAgricultural film refers to the general term for plastic films used in agricultural production. It is the fourth largest agricultural production material after seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides, and plays a significant role in increasing temperature, retaining moisture, drought resistance, water conservation, and boosting yield and income. Since the 1960s, China began producing and using agricultural film. After more than 60 years of development, its industrial chain has continuously improved, providing strong support for the development of the agricultural film industry.Specifically, the upstream of agricultural films involves raw material sectors, mainly including polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, and polystyrene, etc.; the midstream involves the production and supply of agricultural films, which can be divided into light thin films, multi-purpose films, long-life films, biodegradable films, and insect-proof films according to different functions and uses; the downstream sector involves its end application scenarios, including farmland coverage, canal and water storage pool lining, edible fungus cultivation, and storage of green fodder, etc.Source: Organized by Guanyan TianxiaIn the context of worsening white pollution, industry-related policies are becoming stricter.Agricultural film is difficult to recycle and does not degrade easily, leading to "white pollution." This not only damages the landscape and destroys soil structure in farmlands, reduces soil permeability, hinders crop root growth, affects water and nutrient absorption, and results in reduced crop yields, but also causes pollution to soil, groundwater, surface water, plant crops, and the atmosphere due to residual film in the soil. If mistakenly consumed by animals, it can lead to animal deaths and even have an impact on human health.With the increasing use of agricultural film, the "white pollution" caused by discarded agricultural film has increasingly become an important component of agricultural non-point source pollution. According to the second national pollution source census bulletin, the cumulative residual amount of plastic film in the country reached 1.1848 million tons by 2017. In order to prevent and control "white pollution" in farmland, China has successively issued multiple policies in recent years, including the "Action Plan for the Battle Against Agricultural and Rural Pollution," "Opinions of the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment on Further Strengthening Plastic Pollution Control," and "Management Measures for Agricultural Film," which involve promoting the recycling and utilization of agricultural film, prohibiting the production and use of plastic film with a thickness of less than 0.01 millimeters, and strengthening the whole-process supervision of agricultural film, among other measures.Policies Related to China's Agricultural Film IndustrySource: Organized by Guanyan TianxiaThe production of agricultural film has rebounded, and its proportion of domestic plastic film production has been declining year by year.Affected by the aforementioned policies, the production of agricultural films in China has shown a downward trend since 2017, dropping to 773,900 tons in 2020, a year-on-year decrease of 9.18%. Although the production of agricultural films continued to decline in 2019 and 2020, the rate of decline significantly slowed down against the backdrop of increasing application proportions of high-end agricultural films such as biodegradable films. By 2021, production had begun to slightly rebound to 798,700 tons, a year-on-year increase of 3.23%. In 2022, production continued to rise slightly, reaching approximately 831,700 tons, with a year-on-year growth of 4.11%.Data source: China Plastics Processing Industry Association, Guanyan Tianxia compilationAgricultural film is one of the segmented markets of plastic film. In recent years, its proportion of the total plastic film production has shown a year-on-year decline, but the rate of decrease has gradually stabilized since 2021, reaching 4.91% in 2022. Data source: Guanyan Tianxia collationThe development opportunities for biodegradable agricultural films are significant, bringing new growth potential to the industry.According to the report published by the Research and Consulting Network, "Deep Analysis of the Current Situation and Future Forecast of China's Agricultural Film Industry Report (2024-2031)》Shows that biodegradable agricultural films not only possess the functions and characteristics of traditional agricultural films such as polyethylene and polypropylene, but also have the advantages of being biodegradable and pollution-free. With the continuous advancement of the governance of "white pollution" in farmland, biodegradable agricultural film, as a substitute for traditional agricultural film, has a large substitution space. At the same time, national policies are also vigorously promoting the development of biodegradable agricultural film. The "Opinions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on Comprehensively Promoting Rural Revitalization and Accelerating the Modernization of Agriculture and Rural Areas", the "14th Five-Year Plan for National Agricultural Green Development Plan", the "14th Five-Year Plan for Promoting the Modernization of Agriculture and Rural Areas" and other policies have been successively introduced to accelerate the research and development and promotion of biodegradable agricultural film. Under the governance of "white pollution" in farmland and the promotion of policies, biodegradable agricultural film has ushered in major development opportunities, and also brought new growth space for the agricultural film industry.Policies related to the degradable film industry in ChinaSource: Organized by Guanyan WorldIt is worth mentioning that due to factors such as the underdevelopment of biodegradable film technology, the low number of manufacturers, and high raw material prices, the cost of biodegradable agricultural films is relatively high compared to traditional agricultural films. It is reported that the input cost of biodegradable film per acre is about three times that of polyethylene film, which also reduces farmers' willingness to adopt it. However, several regions, including Fujian Province, Guizhou Province, and Hunan Province, have introduced subsidy policies for biodegradable agricultural films, which will help narrow the price gap between biodegradable and traditional films, benefiting its application and penetration. In the future, with the promotion of favorable industry policies, gradual maturity of technology, an increase in manufacturers, a decrease in raw material prices, and the expansion of local subsidy policies, it is expected that the market penetration rate of biodegradable agricultural films will continue to rise.2023-2024 Subsidy Situation for Biodegradable Agricultural Films in Certain AreasSource: Public information, organized by Guanyan Tianxia (WJ)

From February 13 to 16, an academic exchange conference focusing on the Sino-UK agricultural microplastics project was held enthusiastically in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka. This meeting injected strong momentum into the deep advancement of the project.The project is led by Academician Zhang Fusuo and Professor Liu Xuejun from the College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, in collaboration with Professor Davey Jones and Professor Dave Chadwick from Bangor University, UK, and has received strong support from the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF). The project team conducted a comprehensive and in-depth research discussion around the widespread use of agricultural plastics in developing countries globally and the major issues of green and sustainable development in agriculture.Scholars and experts from China, the UK, Egypt, Sri Lanka, and other countries gathered together, including Professor Liu Xuejun and Associate Professor Wang Kai from the College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Researcher Yan Changrong from the Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, as well as renowned scholars and related team members from Bangor University, University of Bristol, Mansoura University in Egypt, and University of Peradeniya in Sri Lanka. They all participated in this project exchange conference and attended the International Conference on Micro/Nanoplastics and Human Health held concurrently.During the meeting, Researcher Mojith Ariyaratne from the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, warmly welcomed the arrival of the experts, faculty, and students. Professors Davey Jones and Dave Chadwick gave a comprehensive introduction to the project and chaired discussions on the project's summary work and future cooperation directions. Professor Liu Xuejun and other experts also engaged in in-depth project discussions.Among them, Associate Professor Wang Kai detailed the overall progress of the Chinese side of the project. Dr. Qu Kaijing, a doctoral student from the College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, explained the necessity and challenges of atmospheric microplastic research and shared the latest findings of atmospheric microplastic studies in the North China Plain. Researcher Yan Changrong demonstrated an application of a mulch film selector, which can recommend more suitable mulch film products based on the environmental conditions of the crop growing area. Meanwhile, Bai Runhao, a doctoral student from the Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, discussed the temporal evolution differences in abundance, size, and other characteristics of biodegradable and polyethylene mulch film microplastics entering the soil, as well as the feasibility of using neural networks to characterize the degradation stages of microplastics.In addition, representatives from the UK, Sri Lanka, and Egypt also shared their respective work progress and achievements. Experts from various units also put forward targeted policy recommendations on the impact of the project, the current status of global and Chinese agricultural film usage, and the issues of macro/micro plastic pollution, and conducted friendly exchanges of opinions.After the meeting, the participants visited experimental fields, atmospheric sampler devices, and biochar preparation facilities at the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, further deepening their understanding and knowledge of the related research of the project.