‘New pesticide law killing industry’

LAHORE: Pakistan Crop Protection Association Chairman Ijaz Ahmed Chaudhry said on Friday that the Food, Agriculture and Livestock Ministry’s new special regulatory order (SRO) is a multinational conspiracy against the local pesticide distribution and packing industries.

Mr Chaudhry, referring to SRO 21(1) of January 16, 2004, told reporters that abolishing the 20-years-old distribution system and allowing distribution to pesticide importers only, would badly affect the industry.

He said the reduction of import duty from 25 to 5 percent would also affect the industry. “This was a conspiracy against the local pesticide packing industry at the behest of pesticide multinationals,” said Mr Chaudhry.

Mr Chaudhry said the SRO had nothing to do with pesticide-adulteration because the Punjab government closely monitors distributors working with importers and they could neither avoid duties nor sell adulterated pesticides.

He said available pesticides were unable to overcome the pest called ‘Lashkari Sundi’, which spoils the cotton crop, and if Pakistan had a properly-functioning pesticide industry, it could save its cotton. He said the officials recommended the import of pesticides when time was running too short. “This was just filling in the blanks instead of looking for a proper solution,” added Mr Chaudhry. He said another irrational step in SRO 21 was to implement the negative pesticides list, that was implemented by the European Union, US, China and Japan. —Staff Report

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