On 12th Dec 2014, the state-owned enterprise Sinochem International Corporation (Sinochem International) announced its purchase of a stake in several agrochemical companies owned by its parent company, the Sinochem Group. Sinochem Crop Protection Inc, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sinochem International is purported to have spent 970 million Yuan to purchase its stake in these companies. The move means all agrochemical business (except R&D) of the Sinochem Group will be consolidated under Sinochem International.

Hong Kong will implement “Regulation on Pesticide Residue in Food” on 1st August 2014. Non-compliant food commodities are not permitted to be imported, produced or sold in Hong Kong with violations subject to a fine of HKD 50,000 or 6 months custodial sentence.

China and Egypt have reached an agreement on mutual acceptance of data for pesticide registration, which will greatly facilitate the trade of agrochemicals and pesticides between the two countries.

Serving as a universal basis for international legislation, the food safety standards under the Codex Alimentarius (CAC) have far reaching implications for resolving trade disputes among the WTO members. The Codex Committee on Pesticide Residue (CCPR) is responsible of establishing, revising and revoking pesticide MRLs in food and preparing schedule of MRLs setting ( also known as the Priority Lists) for evaluations by the JMPR (Joint FAO/WHO Meeting on Pesticide Residues), which play an important role of the MRL establishment. During the development of priority lists, stakeholders engaged in fierce negotiations to protect their interests.