Thailand bans chlorpyrifos and paraquat

On May 19, 2020, the Thai Ministry of Industry announced “Notification of Ministry of Industry: List of Hazardous Substances (No.6) B.E. 2563 (2020) in the Royal Gazette. In this revision of list, the following 5 substances have been designated as Type 4 hazardous substances in List 1.1 under the jurisdiction of the Department of Agriculture. The list will come into effect on June 1, 2020, and the manufacture, import, export and possession of these substances will be banned under the framework of Hazardous Substance Act.

• Chlorpyrifos
• Chlorpyrifos-methyl
• Paraquat
• Paraquat dichloride
• Paraquat dichloride [bis (methyl sulfate)]}

Regarding the herbicides paraquat, chlorpyrifos and glyphosate, the Ministry of Public Health had called for a ban due to the concern for health effect. In October 2019, the Hazardous Substances Committee decided to ban the use of the chemicals from December 2019. The Committee overturned the decision in a month after they received comments from farmers and foreign countries. According to the Ministry of Industry notification promulgated this time, paraquat and chlorpyrifos will be banned from June 2020 although glyphosate is allowed to use.

Currently, Ministry of Public Health is developing a policy prohibit these five substances remained in foods. The future policy may affect the export of Japanese agricultural products to Thailand as the pesticides such as paraquat and chlorpyrifos are commonly used in Japan and other countries.

Download original text of the Notification at
http://www.ratchakitcha.soc.go.th/DATA/PDF/2563/E/117/T_0056.PDF