Replies to LegCo questions
LCQ10: Registered pesticide
Following is a question by the Hon Sin Chung-kai and a written reply by the
Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, in the Legislative Council today
(July 2):
Question:
Gibberellic acid, a plant growth regulator, is a pesticide registered under the
Pesticides Ordinance (Cap. 133). However, a group of farmers have recently
relayed to me that the pesticide is highly toxic. They have also claimed that
Tai Lung Experimental Station of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation
Department (AFCD) taught farmers to use gibberellic acid in growing
strawberries, which AFCD has denied, adding that the pesticide has very low
toxicity to mammals. In this connection, will the Government inform this
Council:
(1) whether it knows if the European Union or other countries have prohibited
the use of gibberellic acid; if they have done so, of the details and the
reasons for the Government not following the practices of those countries; and
(2) whether it has made guidelines to teach farmers the proper and safe use of
plant growth regulators (including the appropriate quantities to be applied); if
it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
(1) Gibberellic acid, a plant growth regulator, is a registered pesticide
(registration number: 2P112) under the Pesticides Ordinance (Cap 133). All
along, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) only
registers pesticides that are classified as slightly or moderately hazardous by
the World Health Organization (WHO). AFCD also imposes restrictions on the
formulation and concentration of registered pesticides. According to WHO's
classification of pesticides by hazard (Note) , gibberellic acid belongs to the
class of pesticides which are "unlikely to present acute hazard in normal use".
Information provided by the European Union (EU) on the internet shows that the
EU does not prohibit the use of gibberellic acid. According to the information
available to AFCD, gibberellic acid is a registered pesticide in many countries,
including the US, Canada, Mainland China, Australia and New Zealand and can be
used on a wide range of crops.
(2) AFCD considers it unnecessary for farmers to use plant growth regulators in
their cultivation. AFCD has never advised local farmers to use gibberellic acid
in growing strawberries. In case individual farmers wish to use any plant growth
regulators, they should follow the instructions on application quantity and
method as specified in the product labels.
Note: According to the WHO classification by hazard, there are five classes of
pesticides, namely those which are "extremely hazardous", "highly hazardous",
"moderately hazardous", "slightly hazardous" and "unlikely to present acute
hazard in normal use".
Ends/Wednesday, July 2, 2014
Issued at HKT 18:10
NNNN