The Centre has extended by three months the permission given to its trading partners to fumigate consignments of pulses, lentils and other farm products at Indian ports with methyl bromide.

The fumigant is banned in several countries because of its detrimental impact on the ozone layer.

The relaxation of fumigation regulations, which would have expired on March 31, has now been extended till June 30.

“It is informed that the competent authority in this Department has decided that consignments of all imported agricultural commodities, whose date of bill of landing in the country of export is June 30, 2017 or before, and for which treatment with methyl bromide fumigation is stipulated in Plant Quarantine Order, will be allowed without offshore fumigation from those countries, which certify discontinuance of this chemical for phytosanitary measure,” a notification from the Agriculture Ministry on Thursday stated.

The move will come as a relief for countries such as Canada, Australia and the US selling pulses to India, as fumigation with methyl bromide is not allowed in these countries and exporters so far had been making use of the relaxation given by India on payment of stipulated penalty.

Better solution

“Exporting countries had been requesting India for more time as they would have had to stop their exports in the absence of a viable alternative. In the next three months we hope to come up with a solution to the problem,” a government official told BusinessLine .

The Plant Quarantine Department, in January, had informed agricultural counsellors and trade commissioners from several exporting countries that it did not intend to extend the permission for fumigating at Indian ports once the existing exemption expired on March 31.

It had argued that the permission had been extended to exporters of pulses for more than a decade, and was leading to India’s ozone layer being depleted.

Environment friendly

The Agriculture Ministry will now work with exporting countries to zero in on alternative pest control measure that will not harm the environment and work effectively.

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