Court Upholds Thailand's Ban on Toxic Farm Chemicals, Orders Reimbursement

The Central Administrative Court has upheld the Thai government's ban on the toxic agricultural chemicals paraquat and chlorpyrifos, ruling the measure is lawful because it protects public health and the environment. The court, however, ruled that manufacturers and importers should not bear the full cost of recalling and destroying the banned chemicals, saying the requirement places an excessive burden on businesses without state compensation. It ordered the Department of Agriculture to cover the disposal costs and reimburse affected companies. The ruling followed a petition by Syngenta Crop Protection Co seeking to revoke a 2020 announcement classifying the herbicide paraquat and the insecticide chlorpyrifos as Type 4 hazardous substances, effectively banning their production, import, export and possession. The company also challenged the order requiring businesses to destroy the chemicals at their own expense. Syngenta Crop Protection is a major manufacturer of chlorpyrifos. However, it ceased global production of paraquat in June this year, and is phasing out sales as supplies deplete. The company cited severe competition from generic producers and shifting market dynamics. Biothai and the Foundation for Consumers, representing the Thai Pesticide Alert Network (Thai-PAN), joined the case in support of the ban. Amarin Saichan, a lawyer with the Environmental Law Foundation (EnLAW), said the court found the ban lawful because it was based on comprehensive scientific evidence and complied with constitutional requirements for protecting public health and the environment. Thai-PAN representative Prokchon Usap cited government data showing paraquat residue, previously found in about a quarter of sampled fruit and vegetables, has not been detected since the ban. Deaths linked to the chemicals have fallen by more than 20%, while imports of paraquat, chlorpyrifos and glyphosate have dropped by more than 60 million kilogrammes. Information Source: Bangkok Post