According
to a notice received by the WTO on July 31, 2019, the European Commission (EC)
suggested that the registration of Thiacloprid, a kind of neonicotinoid insecticides,
should not be approved in the EU any more.
Pursuant to
the Requirements for Active Substance of EU Pesticide Regulation, plant
protection products that contain Thiacloprid should not have a detrimental
effect on human health and the environment. Having considered the draft
assessment reports and peer reviews from different countries and the European
Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the EC thought that Thiacloprid failed to meet
the requirements of approval. Therefore, the EC decided to no longer approve
its registration.
At the
moment, the approval period of Thiacloprid is valid until April 30, 2020 in the
EU. It is predicted that the suggestion will be adapted in the 4th quarter of 2019. Once the EU has made a formal announcement regarding the
prohibition of Thiacloprid, related products have to exit the EU market within
prescribed deadlines.
Main reason why the EU market says goodbye to Thiacloprid:
higher risk of causing cancer
In 2005, Thiacloprid
was approved under the old legislation concerning the placing of plant
protection products on the market in the EU (Directive 91/414/ EEC). The new
assessment is conducted under the new legislation (RegulationNo 1107/2009). According
to the assessment report from the EFSA, the main reasons why Thiacloprid should
be banned are as follows:
- Thiacloprid
is classified as possibly carcinogenic to humans (Group 2B) and its
reproductive toxicity is classified as category 1B, which refers to the presumed
human reproductive toxicant.
- The metabolites of Thiacloprid has been confirmed as
pollutants to underground water. Under all circumstances, relevant metabolites, including
M30, M34 and M46 have heavier concentrations than drinking water. Hence, it
cannot be excluded that those metabolites are also carcinogenic to human
beings.
- Based on the existing data, assessment of the risks for consumers,
birds, mammals, aquatic organisms, bees and non-target terrestrial plants is unable to be completed.
Neonicotinoid insecticides play a significant
role in global pesticides market
Neonicotinoid
insecticides, belonging to chloronicotinyl insecticides, are generally accepted
by a wide range of people thanks to their good control effects and their
characteristics of low toxicity, high efficiency and broad spectrum. Homoptera
aphids and Hemiptera planthoppers are especially the effective targets for neonicotinoid
insecticides.
With the excellent nature and huge market capacity, neonicotinoid insecticides are
considered the most common insecticides in the world. As a main promoter for
the growth of global insecticides sales volume, neonicotinoid insecticides have
been performing nicely ever since its entrance on the market.
According
to official data, neonicotinoid insecticides have been ranked in the second
place among pesticides categories constantly for a decade. In 2014, the sales
volume of neonicotinoid insecticides reached USD 3,345,000,000 in the market,
occupying 18% of the insecticides market and 5.3% of the global pesticides
market.
Neonicotinoid insecticides to face challenges
in future development
In recent
years there has been a dispute concerning the high toxicity that neonicotinoid
insecticides may exert on pollinating insects, particularly bees. Earlier in
2013, the EC already proposed prohibiting the use of neonicotinoid pesticides,
such as Thiamethoxam, Clothianidin and Imidacloprid, for the flowering crops
that can attract bees. In May, 2018, those three pesticides were fully banned
being used outdoors. In the same year, France blacklisted Thiacloprid and Acetamiprid,
becoming the first European country to completely restrict those five neonicotinoid
pesticides.
In China,
the registration of 7 kinds of neonicotinoid insecticides including Imidacloprid,
Thiamethoxam, Clothianidin, Dinotefuran, Acetamiprid, Thiacloprid and Nitenpyram
is still available at present.
Since Imidacloprid
first entered the market in 1991, neonicotinoid insecticides experienced rapid
development. Despite the fact that they may have a negative impact on bees, it
will be very difficult to find a good alternative for this kind of
insecticides. Some market insiders thought that neonicotinoid insecticides are
still confronted with a lot of uncertainties in the future.
For more
information about China's insecticides market, please have a look at our
monthly newsletter Insecticides
China News.