Amendment of the Pesticides Ordinance

In order to fulfill the requirements of the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade (Rotterdam Convention) and the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (Stockholm Convention) in respect of pesticides, the amendment of the Pesticides Ordinance (Cap. 133) takes effect on 27 January 2014. Pesticides controlled under the Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions are set out in two schedules to Cap. 133 (scheduled pesticides) – Schedule 1 lists pesticides under the Stockholm Convention and Part 1 of Schedule 2 for pesticides under the Rotterdam Convention.

Regulatory requirements for Scheduled Pesticides

The import, export, manufacture, sale, supply, possession, use or transhipment (except air transhipment cargo) of all scheduled pesticides is prohibited except under a Pesticide Permit issued by DAFC under Cap. 133. In addition, each shipment of pesticides entering or leaving Hong Kong, excluding shipment in transit or air transhipment cargo, has to be covered by an Import/Export Licence as required by the Import and Export Ordinance (Cap. 60). For any pesticides listed in Part 1 of Schedule 2, DAFC will issue Pesticides Permit under Cap. 133 and Import/Export Licence under Cap. 60 only if import consent is granted by the importing country.

Both Conventions do not apply to chemicals in quantities not likely to affect human health or the environment which are used for laboratory research, chemical analysis or as a reference standard. In line with the spirit of the Conventions, the Ordinance provides an exemption for scheduled pesticides not exceeding 10g or 10mL that is contained in an individual package or container and is used or intended to be used indoors for laboratory research, chemical analysis or as a reference standard from the Pesticide Permit requirement. Nonetheless, the import and export of such pesticides are still subject to a consignment-based Import/Export Licence under Cap. 60.

Licence/Permit Requirements for Scheduled Pesticides are summarized in the Table below:

O: Required     X: Not required
*A pesticide is in transit if it is destined for a place outside Hong Kong and is passing through Hong Kong on the same ship, aircraft or vehicle without transhipment.
**Air transhipment cargo means an article in transhipment that is both imported and consigned for export in an aircraft and which, during the period between its import and export, remains within the cargo transhipment area of the Hong Kong International Airport.

 

Penalty

Any person who imports, manufactures, sells, supplies, possesses, uses or exports any scheduled pesticide not under and in accordance with a valid permit issued under Cap. 133 commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine at level 5 and to imprisonment for 1 year.

Application forms

Pesticides Permit
Application for Pesticides Permit

Import/Export Licence
Application for Import/Export Licence

Publicity materials

Amendment of the Pesticides Ordinance - Pamphlet
Amendment of the Pesticides Ordinance - Poster

Enquiries

Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department
Plant and Pesticides Regulatory Division
Address: 5/F, Cheung Sha Wan Government Offices, 303 Cheung Sha Wan Road, Kowloon.
Tel.: 2150 7007
Fax: 2314 2622
E-mail: mailbox@afcd.gov.hk