Argentina updates regulations to allow import of pesticides registered abroad

Argentina has updated its pesticide regulations through Resolution 458/2025, introducing a faster system for registering and authorizing products.

The main change for the international market is the authorization of imports of crop protection products that have been previously approved in foreign countries. If there is equivalent regulation in the exporting country, pesticides may enter Argentina based upon a sworn statement, thus speeding the introduction of new technologies in the South American country.

For products not yet available in Argentina, Senasa (National Service for Agrifood Health and Quality) may grant provisional registration for up to two years, during which local efficacy and safety studies must be conducted.

The text of the new regulation also authorizes experimental use of products at an early stage of development, both in the field and in greenhouses. For this, a specific request must be submitted to the agency, based upon new technical criteria.

Another innovation is that products intended exclusively for export must only meet the requirements of the destination countries, as long as they are certified by Senasa.

Additionally,  Senasa will temporarily consider maximum residue limits adopted in the country of origin, when no local data is yet available in Argentina.

According to the Argentine government, the focus of the measure is to simplify procedures for the agricultural sector and to incorporate more rigorous scientific and international criteria.

Resolution 458/2025 replaces old regulations and introduces a faster, declaration-based system for those who manufacture, import, or market these products. Establishments now receive automatic authorization after submitting the declaration and are subject to subsequent inspection.

One of the most important advances is the adoption of the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS), a worldwide standard for warning about chemical hazards. The regulation requires adjustments to packaging and sets deadlines for labels to comply with this new format.

The regulation also creates the National Register of Crop Protection Products, where previously registered products will be automatically incorporated. This registration will be valid indefinitely, but Senasa can revoke it if evidence of risks to human health or the environment arises.

Decision Approved

The update has been well received by companies and agricultural associations in Argentina, who highlighted the simplification of procedures and the possibility to speed up what were previously lengthy and cumbersome processes, as well as to accelerate access to new technologies.

Diego Napolitano, president of Cedasaba (Chamber of Distributors of Agrochemicals, Seeds, and Related Products of Buenos Aires), stated that this is a fundamental modernization of a system that for years had proved excessively slow.

″Previously, registration could take three to five years. Some waited up to six, even with all the documentation in order. The new regulation provides rapid approval, which will significantly reduce the time needed to obtain registrations,″ noted Napolitano.

Napolitano added that simplification should not come at the expense of control. ″It is very good, as long as controls are maintained. We need to ensure how products are formulated in Argentina, the quality of formulations, and rigorous oversight, as must be the case in this area.″

Napolitano praised the government’s focus on reducing bureaucracy, noting that the sector had demanded this for some time. ″For years, all we did was accumulate paperwork. This is going in the right direction,″ he said.

Federico Landgraf, executive director of Casafe (Chamber of Agrochemical Health and Fertilizers), also said that the changes ″improve the registration system, simplify the process, reduce time, digitize procedures, and rely on robust regulatory systems from a group of high-surveillance countries. As a result, access to innovation will be made easier and the competitiveness of agricultural producers will be enhanced.″

(Editing by Leonardo Gottems, reporter for AgroPages)