Multiple public funds submit applications for agricultural-themed ETFs in quick succession

Securities Times reporter Zhao Mengqiao

In recent days, multiple fund management companies have filed in quick succession agriculture-themed ETFs such as those focused on grain and livestock breeding.

On March 31, Ping An Fund filed the Ping An CSI Agriculture Theme Index-Tracking Fund by Way of an Initiating Fund. On March 27 and March 26, Bosera Asset Management and China Universal Fund, respectively, filed the CSI Grain Industry ETF under their brands. Only within March, there were more than 10 ETFs filed in total, with directions concentrated in agricultural sub-sectors such as grains and livestock breeding. A fund manager noted that the concentrated filing of related ETFs in recent times reflects relatively consistent judgments by institutions on the sector’s fundamentals and policy catalysts, concluding that they have long- and medium-term allocation value and moving to secure the layout window in advance.

On the secondary market side, the scale of the related theme ETFs has risen for nearly all of the time from the start of the year. The number of units of the CSI Agriculture Theme ETF managed by China Universal Fund increased by more than 1.082 billion units; the CSI Grain Industry ETF managed by Penghua Fund increased by more than 0.985 billion units. In addition, the units of the Invesco Great Wall Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries ETF and the Tianhong CSI Agriculture Theme ETF increased by more than 0.739 billion units and 0.639 billion units, respectively. Moreover, amid overseas geopolitical turmoil from late February to mid-March, the A-share agriculture sector maintained strong performance; the interval gains of multiple ETFs exceeded 10%, becoming a safe harbor for capital inflows.

Multiple public fund managers pointed out that the main driving force behind the outperformance of the agriculture sector comes primarily from the fertilizers segment, and its strong performance is the result of a triple convergence of “seasonal demand + cost push + geopolitics.”

Bosera Fund stated that the 2026 Spring Festival arrives later; in March, production-readiness for spring farming officially enters the peak period, directly boosting demand for fertilizers and pesticides and supporting product prices and corporate earnings. At the same time, geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East have caused fluctuations in oil and gas resource prices, raising the production costs of energy-intensive fertilizers such as nitrogen fertilizers. Market trading follows the transmission chain of energy—chemicals—agricultural inputs, establishing the logic of cost-supported price increases. In addition, sub-sectors such as the phosphorus chemical industry are shifting from a pure cyclical logic to a “resources + growth” logic. Certain products with strategic resource attributes, such as phosphate rock, are seeing a re-rating of value under the backdrop of geopolitical security, driving a reshaping of sector valuations.

Invesco Great Wall Fund stated that agricultural products are also a key focus of this round of “anti-overcrowding,” as industries including pork, aquatic products, and grains have responded to policy calls and actively reduced production capacity. In that context, agricultural product supply is expected to be optimized, thereby helping corporate earnings rebound.

China Universal Fund analyzed that, currently, as a relatively broad concept, the agriculture sector shows clear differentiated logic in the fundamentals projections of each core sub-sector:

In the seed industry, policy direction setting and technological change are the main driving forces. The 2026 No. 1 Central Document continues to strengthen food security, clearly proposing to advance the industrialization of biotech breeding. China Universal Fund believes that top-level policy design has shifted from stabilizing production to increasing yield per unit, accelerating the implementation of commercialized biotech breeding. Grain prices may fluctuate in the short term, but with expectations of global liquidity easing and support from inventory destocking, medium-term prices are supported. Leading seed companies, backed by technological barriers, are expected to deliver performance by gaining market share during industry reshuffles.

The fertilizers and pesticides segment is expected to continue maintaining a supply-and-demand pattern close to balance. In the recent period, phosphate fertilizer prices have stayed at a high level; corporate profitability is secured, and the cost-support logic continues to be strengthened.

The livestock breeding segment is in a typical left-side layout period. China’s hog breeding industry is currently in a “losses-troughing” stage, with pig prices around RMB 12—13 per kg, below the cost line of about RMB 14 per kg. With continued losses compounded by policy guidance, the trend of capacity reduction is becoming clear. The core of market trading lies in the expectation that “capacity reduction will lead to a future supply contraction.” As the inventory of sows giving birth to offspring approaches policy targets, the certainty of the cycle reversal is accumulating, and the segment has excellent defensive and counter-cyclical rebound attributes.

(Editor-in-Charge: Liu Chang ）

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