On 8 Jul 2014, China MEP published the first list of environmentally compliant glyphosate producers. The draft public consultation period wrapped up on the 13 Jun 2014(see ChemLinked’s news Release on 13 Jun 2014) after which four companies (just a fraction of total applicants) were finally included into the first batch.
MEP will continue its compliance verification campaign in addition to re-examining and conducting random inspections on the four compliant producers. Violators may have their name stricken from the list. To deal with the pollution caused by the glyphosate industry and cut down on the number of glyphosate producers, MEP implemented regulatory measures targeting domestic glyphosate TC (PMIDA) producers providing companies with the opportunity to voluntarily submit to inspection in order to be listed on the “Name List of Environmental Compliant Glyphosate TC (PMIDA)” (see ChemLinked’s news release on 28 May 2013). The Ministry also provided detailed technical requirements and procedures of the verification. It was planned that the first batch of compliant producers would be published by the end of last year, but the release was repeatedly delayed and the number of compliant producers lower than expected. The major reason for this was due to industry’s lack of understanding of the technical requirements and the waste water pollution case in Zhejiang(see ChemLinked’s news release on 26 Jun 2013).
MEP’s plan will include the support of other administrative departments such as MIIT, MoA, MOFCOM and AQSIQ, etc., indicating that substantial coordinated measures will be taken by other governmental authorities. If the coordinated measures are adopted, the glyphosate industry will undergo reforms very similar with the citric acid industry three years ago. The reform of China’s citric acid industry is complete leaving just six domestic producers accounting for over 95% of China’s citric acid production. Sanonda, a state-backed producer in Hubei, recently announced to apply for the next round of verification.
