The most common complaints with generic agrochemicals are active content below specification, impurity profiles that drift from the registered profile, formulations that fail physical tests, short shelf life and packaging failures. Behind many of them is a quiet change of process or source.
Most of these problems can be caught before shipment if you test the right properties and control changes in your contract.
Problems with technicals
- Active content arrives below the minimum, or meets it only on the factory's COA.
- Impurities rise or new ones appear after a change of route, raw material or site.
- Moisture is too high, which causes caking or breakdown in storage.
- The isomer ratio drifts outside the specified range, for actives sold as an isomer mix.
- Colour, odour or physical form differs between lots, which can signal a process change.
Problems with formulations
- An EC separates or forms cream in the spray tank because of poor emulsifier choice.
- An SC settles and forms a hard cake that will not redisperse.
- A WDG does not disperse fully and blocks spray nozzles.
- Crystals form after cold storage, which also blocks filters and nozzles.
- Active content falls during storage because of breakdown or solvent loss.
- Labels do not match the approved artwork, or carry wrong batch and date codes.
Why they happen
Many problems start after the first orders. The plant cuts cost by changing a raw material, buying in technical, or using a cheaper emulsifier or bottle. The COA may still show the right purity, because purity is all it reports. This pattern is described in why quality drops after the first container.
Others come from scale. A sample made in a pilot batch may not behave like a full production batch. Physical properties in particular can change when milling or mixing equipment changes.
Storage and transport add their own damage. Containers can reach high temperatures at sea and in port yards, which speeds breakdown and solvent loss. Shelf life issues are covered in the shelf life of agrochemical formulations.
Some complaints are really specification gaps. If your contract lists only active content, a lot with poor suspensibility still meets it on paper. You then have little ground for a claim, even when the product fails in the field.
How to prevent them
- Write a full specification that covers impurities and physical tests, not only active content.
- Require written notice before any change of route, raw material, technical source, co-formulant, pack or site.
- Have samples drawn at the factory and tested independently before you release the shipment.
- Test incoming lots for key impurities and the physical properties that matter for the type.
- Keep retention samples from each lot, so you can test the same material if a complaint arrives.
- Agree in the contract how quality claims are handled and which lab decides disputes.
Next step
We have lots tested before shipment, watch for process changes and supervise loading. Book a free sourcing review to set up quality controls for your product.