Costa Rica Will No Longer Import Methyl Bromide

The country has stopped using the chemical which is used to disinfect floors and eliminate pests in crops such as melon, because of its impact on the ozone layer.

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

This was announced by the Ministry of Environment and Energy (Minae), adding that the country is the first in Central America to ban the use of the agricultural fumigant.

Prensalibre.cr reports: "Methyl bromide is 60 times more destructive to the ozone layer, compared with chlorine. This substance will no longer be used in melon crops from this year, and has been replaced by biological controls and environmentally friendly technologies. "

According to Rodolfo Elizondo, Ozone engineer at the Minae, it is precisely because of those alternatives that fumigation with methyl bromide has become unnecessary.

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More on this topic

Nicaragua: Businesses Oppose Chemical Control

March 2014

An agricultural union is claiming losses of $1.4 million because of purchase of pesticides that the government decided to restrict.  

The National Commission of Registration and Control of Toxic Substances created by the Government in February, restricted from coming into the country 12 agrochemicals.

European Union Bans More Pesticides

December 2013

Three neonicotinoid pesticides used in growing plants and cereals have been banned because they are considered harmful to bees.

Prensa.com reports that "the products in question are clothianidin and imidacloprid, produced by Bayer, and thiamethoxam, manufactured by the Swiss firm Syngenta, who has appealed against the ban before the European Court."

Losses in Agriculture Due to Chemicals Ban

September 2013

Businessmen from the Salvadoran agricultural sector remarked that the measure could cause a 60% drop in production.

The warning came from the international organization CropLife, which is a member of the Agricultural Suppliers Association (APA) of El Salvador. "The FAO has said that without the use of pesticides, you run the risk of losing between 40% and 60% of the harvest, and this not only true in El Salvador, but around the world," said Martin Zuniga, CropLife regional director for Central America and the Caribbean.

Europa Prohibits Three Pesticides

June 2013

The European Commission has decided to restrict the use of three pesticides used in the growing of plants and cereals, after having verified that they are harmful to bees.

From an article by the Costa Rican Foreign Trade Promotion Office (PROCOMER):

The European Commission (EC) decided to restrict the use of three neonicotinoid pesticides used in the growing of plants and cereals, after finding that these are harmful to bees. The restrictions set out in regulation 485/2013 amending Regulation 540/2011 and specifically prohibits the use of clothianidin, imidacloprid and tiametoxan, from May 25, 2013.

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