BANGKOK, Nov 27 – The National Committee on Hazardous Substances resolved to postpone its ban on paraquat and chlorpyrifos for six months from Dec 1 to June 1 next year and limit the use of glyphosate.
Industry Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit, as chair of the committee, said the panel took into consideration information and exchange opinions before making the unanimous decision.
The resolution came from 24 members who were present at today’s meeting of the 29-member panel, he said.
According to Mr Suriya, the limited use of glyphosate was an old decision that the committee reached on May 23, 2018.
Today the committee assigned the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry and the Department of Agriculture to present substitutes or other alternatives in place of paraquat and chlorpyrifos to the committee within four months.
The new resolution replaced the decision on Oct 22 of the same committee whose members ended their tenures. The new committee had its first meeting today.
Committee members were informed that old stocks of the three chemicals amounted to about 23,000 tons and it would be costly to destroy them. Besides, the Dec 1 ban would otherwise impact food and animal feed industries because their imported raw materials contained some of the chemicals.
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