In aim of a safe Beijing Olympics, Shanghai Police Department will take effective measures to control weapon, high-toxic chemicals and radioactive isotope strictly. Details are as below (selected chapters):

1. May 20 th - May 24 th & July 1 st - August 22 nd

Stop approving transportation of any dangerous goods to or via Beijing or other host cities are PROHIBITED. (excluding May 20 th - May 24 th )

Transportation within Shanghai must be approved in advance by Shanghai Police Department.

2. May 20 th - May 24 th , July 25 th - August 22 nd

Stop approving any authorization to buy high-toxic chemicals, except some necessary chemicals.

The State Environmental Protection Administration of China had recently announced first 141 export items crossing six industries classified as “high-polluting, high environmental risk” products. The blacklist has covered 39 export products which are eligible for export tax rebates, including pesticides, coating materials, batteries and organic arsenic. Amongst all, 24 items are under the category of pesticide.

As an urgent force to implement the green trade policy, SEPA urged the financial and taxation authorities to remove export tax rebates for the listed products and ban the processing trade. “High pollution” refers to serious environmental pollution and difficult treatment of waste; “high environmental risk” refers to those products' exposure hazard to human being and the environment.

Sodium dichromate production is one example of the out-to-date processing technology that the majority of Chinese plants are still using nowadays. Chromium calcium in the residues is identified as strong carcinogen by WHO. A t present, China has accumulated over 4 million tons of untreated chromium residue, and a new release of 500,000 tons a year, threatening the public health and our living environment. The country is forced to invest huge sum of money for waste treatment. SEPA estimated the cost for waste-control of high-risk products accounts for 10%-30% of overall production cost.

In order to curb the pollution issues before it is unbearable, China will take immediate action to strictly limit the production of high-risk products. By removing its export tax rebate policy, prices of Chinese agrochemicals will undoubtedly increase for another 5-17%, if the new proposal is finally taken into effect.

Names of 24 listed pesticides:

1.   Phorate
2.   Isocarbophos
3.   Isofenphos-methyl
4.   Terbufos
5.   Aldicarb
6.   Carbofuran
7.   Methomyl
8.   Bromomethane
9.   Zinc Phosphide
10.   Warfarin
11.   Counmatetralyl
12.   Bromadiolone
13.   Brodifacoum
14.   Diphacine (sodium)
15.   Lindane
16.   Pentachlorophenol (sodium)
17.   Dicofol
18.   Methamidophos
19.   Parathion-methyl
20.   Parathion
21.   Monocrotophos
22.   Phosphorus amine
23.   DDT
24.   Dechlorane Mirex

Year 2007 is a historical year of Chinese agriculture industry. Due to the fluctuation of global finance and international economy, China 's agrochemical markets have yet faced huge influences.

•  Tax Refund Policy

China 's new export tax refund (exemption) policy is one of the main reasons for the inflation of agrochemicals. The rate was cut down from 11% to 5% in 1 July, due to the “butterfly effect”, most prices are increased up to 10%-15%. Sadly, a new rumor whispered again, that the remaining 5% will be repealed sooner or later in 2008.

•  Environmental Pollution Issues

Chinese economy is experiencing a booming growth in past twenty years. The accumulated pollution problems eventually welled out in 2007, and pushed the government to take serious attention. In some provinces along the coast, thousands of small chemical plants, without sewage treatment equipments, were terminated at a sudden. The survivors had to pay high penalty and were forced to build complete and workable waste treatment facilities. This environmental protection storm caused tremendous increase of production cost in all links of chemical industry chain.

•  Price Inflation

Almost all agrochemical materials were facing inflation in whole 2007. Take Glyphosate as an example, price increased without inflection point from usd3.3/kg in January of 2007 to usd10/kg at the beginning of January of 2008. The high prices stimulated excess of demand for stock, the excess demand pushed the prices higher, they were sank into this mud.

•  Tight Monetary Policies in 2008

China is facing the most serious inflation throughout the whole year of 2007, with its CPI up to 6.9%, which is reported as the highest level in 11 years. The government has announced to adopt a tight monetary policy in 2008, a winter of currency flow to all manufacturers is coming, however, the consumer inflation will be continuing.