India: PMFAI appeals to the government to restrict imports of Technical Grade Pesticides

Date:03-09-2023

Uncontrolled and liberal registration policy granting registrations for imports of technical grade pesticides has been harming the Indian pesticide manufacturing industry.  

Pesticide Manufacturers & Formulators Association of India (PMFAI) has been apprising the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers to restrict imports of Technical Grade Pesticides. Despite the country having proven capabilities and enough production capacities, granting registrations for imports and increasing imports are hurting the Indian industries, especially due to imports of those pesticides for which India has enough local production capacities.

The association president Mr. Pradip Dave has written to Secretaries of both the concerned ministries, Mr. Manoj Ahuja of the Ministry of Agriculture and Mr. Arun Bakora of the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers to restrict imports of technical grade pesticides.

The written representation sent to the ministries by Mr. Dave mentions ″There is lack of policy support for the domestic manufacturing of key technical products and skewed import policy favoring formulated products. There is a liberal import registration regime, granting registrations to traders and importers to import technical-grade pesticides. The technical grade products are imported from cheaper and sub-standard sources. The regulatory authorities are following MNCs who  dictate policy which does not apply in the Indian context.″

Mr. Dave further mentioned that the registration process should be amended to encourage local manufacturing of technical grade pesticides and the Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers and the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare through CIB&RC should work out policies to deny registrations for import wherever there are enough production capacities.

The Department of Chemicals & Petrochemicals has already notified a list of 28 chemical items for which there is sufficient local capacity and local competition. The list includes Pesticides – Chlorpyrifos, D.D.V.P., Monocrotophos, Fenvalerate, Cypermethrin, Lambda Cyhalothrin & Glyphosate. There are many more such technical-grade products.

″By this communication, the government acknowledges that there are sufficient production capacities but still technical grade products like Chlorpyrifos are imported from China in huge quantities under category TI v/s. TIM. These imports not only impact local production of technical grade products in India but also industries manufacturing required raw materials and chemicals″ said Mr. Dave.