On February 8nd 2017, the State Council passed the draft of revised Regulation on Pesticide Administration. We forecast the new Regulation on Pesticide Administration will be issued in April or May, 2017. New management measures will come into effect, including Pesticide Production License, Pesticide Registration, Permission of Pesticide Experiment Institutions and Pesticide Distribution Permit. In order to ensure traceability throughout the entire pesticide supply chain, the Ministry of Agriculture will take full responsibility for pesticide production, registration, distribution and application. Our predictions for the new regulation are as follows: Old Regulation Prediction of New Regulation Chapter I General Provisions Article 2 Words like “destroying or wipe out” used in the context of pesticide efficacy were deleted in the new regulation. The aim of pesticide is to prevent or control diseases, pests etc. Pesticide with the ability of destroying or wiping out disease, pests etc. may pose unnecessarily high risk to the environment and human health. The supervision of highly toxic pesticides will be more stringent. Article 2.2 To prevent, wipe out or control storage diseases, pests, rodents and other harmful organisms. To prevent or control storage and processing places diseases, pests, rodents and other harmful organisms. Article 2.6 To prevent, wipe out or control organisms harmful to dikes and dams, railroads, airports, buildings and other facilities. To prevent or control organisms harmful to dikes and dams, railroads, dock, airports, buildings and other facilities. Chapter II Registration of Pesticide Article 7 The pesticide production (including technical material and formulated product

By the end of 2016, Thai agricultural pesticide importation totaled 160,687 tons, representing an increase of 10.8% compared with the previous year of 149,458 tons. Import value grew by 7.1% to 20.577 billion THB (587.91 million USD at the current rate). The number of Thai companies engaged in pesticide importation decreased from 147 to 141 while the number of sourcing origins went from 34 in 2015 to 36 in 2016. The number of imported active ingredients/combinations showed little variation however prices were volatile during the year.

On February 8th, 2017, Premier Li Keqiang presided over an executive meeting of the State Council, during which the draft of the revised Regulations on Pesticide Administration was released. The draft document focuses on the quality and safety of agricultural products.

On 21 Dec 2016, the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply(MAPA) issued a departmental measure on the Federal Official Gazette to suspend the authorization of 63 fungicides registered for Asian rust (Phakopsora pachyrhizi) in soybean. The affected products shall have the recommendation excluded from pesticide label and user manual within 90 days of the announcement.

On 23 Dec 2016, China MoA released the meeting-minutes of the 20th session of the 8 National Expert Committee of Pesticide Registration, which concluded on 2 Dec in Beijing. A total of 36 pesticides using 18 new active ingredients were reviewed for full registration. 18 pesticides using 9 new active ingredients were approved, of which 4 herbicides were submitted by Bayer CropScience: Triafamone, Terfuryltrione, Flurtamone and Flufenacet.

On 28 Dec 2016, China MoA submitted the “Implementation Plan for the Integrated Management of Hazardous Pesticides” to the General Office of the State Council. The submission was in response to its circular on the Plan for the Integrated Management of Hazardous Chemicals, which was issued at the end of November.

On 18 Dec 2016, the National Health and Family Planning Commission, the Ministry of Agriculture and the State Food and Drug Administration jointly issued the “Maximum Residue Limits for Pesticide in Food (GB 2763-2016)”, replacing (GB 2763-2014). Meanwhile, 106 mandatory test methods for pesticide residue detection were also released under GB 23200-2016 series to support the implementation.

On 23 Dec 2016, China ICAMA issues the 14th batch of pesticide registration to be approved in 2016 for public consultation until 29 Dec 2016.

On 16 Dec 2016, The Canadian Pest Management Regulatory Agency(PMRA) opened a 45-day public consultation on the “Guidance for Preparing Safety Data Sheets According to the Globally Harmonized System of classification and Labelling of Chemicals for Pest Control Products in Canada”. Safety Data Sheets (SDSs) are primarily utilized by workers in workplaces involved in pesticide application and handling, as well as during emergency response, by consumers and those involved in the transportation of dangerous goods. Although implementation of the guidelines in the document is discretionary, it will serve as an initial step in the eventual implementation of mandatory SDS regulatory requirements which will be detailed in a Pest Control Products Act which in future.

IBAMA fined 69 agrochemical companies for failure to submit mandatory data on the volume of pesticide imported, exported, produced or marketed. 17 repeat offenders were also made public by IBAMA