On October 7, Ministry of Agriculture and
Cooperatives (Thailand), MOAC announced that Thailand has imposed a ban on the
importation of three herbicides, namely paraquat, glyphosate and chlorpyrifos. Since
June 30, no more paraquat, glyphosate or chlorpyrifos has been imported into
the country. The vice minister of MOAC held a meeting with representatives of
the Agricultural Department of Thailand, importers, farmers and consumers,
discussing solution plans for these three herbicides. They agreed that
herbicides which contain paraquat, glyphosate and chlorpyrifos should be
prohibited and products with paraquat, glyphosate and chlorpyrifos will neither
be imported into Thailand, nor sold or used in the market from December 1, 2019
ongoing.
The decision to ban products with paraquat,
glyphosate and chlorpyrifos will be first sent to the prime minister of
Thailand. After the approval from the prime minister, the decision will be
submitted to NHSC. The 29 members of NHSC will be reviewing the decision on
October 27, 2019. So far, even though
associations of health and the rights and interests of consumers call on the
prohibition of the three listed herbicide products, NHSC will only restrict the
use of these products before looking for a better substitute.
The vice minister of MOAC will request NHSC
to categorize paraquat, glyphosate and chlorpyrifos as Class 4 hazardous
substances, which would prohibit the ownership, sale, import and production of
these chemicals. The vice minister also hopes that NHSC will take the
representatives’ advice in the meeting on October 27. In 2017, the health
department of Thailand failed to ban the use of paraquat, glyphosate and
chlorpyrifos as other institutions insisted on using the three chemicals.
Paraquat, glyphosate and chlorpyrifos
losing popularity in the developed world
Glyphosate is an herbicide that controls
broadleaf weeds and grasses. Glyphosate is commonly used throughout the world, but
it is strictly regulated in Europe. On September 4, 2019, Germany imposed a ban
on the use of glyphosate, which aimed to protect certain insect populations.
Paraquat is a powerful weed killer.
However, it is highly toxic and can lead to serious health hazards and even
death in humans. A fatal dose of paraquat will damage several primary organs in
a human’s body, which will finally lead to major organ failure. Because of its
potential hazards, the production, circulation, sales and storage of paraquat is
losing popularity in the Chinese market and will soon be prohibited completely.
Chlorpyrifos is an herbicide developed by
an American company, Dow Chemical, in 1965. It is also widely used throughout
the world due to its characteristics of broad-spectrum effectiveness, as well
as low chance of pests developing resistance. Its use developed steadily for
several decades, and it is still a popular herbicide in some parts of the
world.
Chlorpyrifos has already been registered by
over 100 countries in the world, but it has been used in only a few countries
after 2010. In 2010, the supply of chlorpyrifos in China and India accounted
for over 70% of the global supply, while the supply in America, Israel and
other countries slightly decreased. In
recent years, the supply of chlorpyrifos in China and India has made up more
than 80% of the global supply. China and Brazil have become the biggest
consumers of chlorpyrifos.
You can get more
information about China`s herbicide market on our Herbicides
China News Newsletter.