Farm chemical shops in Chai Nat province have started cutting the prices of three chemicals before the ban on them takes effect on Dec 1.
A committee on toxic substances voted unanimously on Monday to ban two herbicides — paraquat and glyphosate — and chlorpyrifos, a pesticide, to take effect on Dec 1.
In Chai Nat, a vendor said all shops selling the substances are clearing their stocks. Some cut prices to cost, or 1,999 baht per six-gallon case, from between 2,250 and 2,300 baht each. Some online vendors even sell them for 1,800 baht apiece.
However, sales are not as brisk as they had expected.
They speculate that one of the chemicals that will be used as a substitute will be glufosinate, but the problem is that it costs four times as much as the three banned chemicals.
The ban this week has triggered resistance from farmers who fear their production costs would soar. They accused the government of failing to come up with concrete, practical measures to help them find substitutes. If the replacements are too expensive, they would have to eliminate weeds manually, further affecting food costs.
Proponents of the ban cite improved food safety and a cleaner environment, and the fact that the chemicals are banned in most countries.
Both sides accuse each other of favouring companies that import the banned chemicals or their substitutes.
