Pakistan has decided to restrict the use of methyl bromide (MB) to evaporate imported goods such as lentils, canola, soybeans, genitals, and cotton, after fears of environmental and health risks. The decision was taken at a high -level meeting chaired by the Minister of Food Security, Waseem Ajmal Chaudhary, who also agreed to impose a complete ban on 12 highly toxic insecticides that have been long used despite their known risks to human health and ecosystems.
MB is very toxic gas, non -color, and no smell is widely used as a vaporization of the control of pests in agriculture and charging. However, its increasing use in the import sector in Pakistan raised warnings between health experts and environmental organizers. The government’s decision is in line with the Montreal Protocol, an international agreement that limits the use of MB for quarantine purposes and pre -shipments as there are no viable alternatives. The officials indicated that Pakistan’s dependence on MB has increased in recent years, making organizational intervention necessary.
In addition to MB restrictions, the government has moved to ban 12 dangerous pesticides that were widely used in major crops such as wheat, cotton, rice and vegetables. These chemicals have been linked to severe environmental degradation, water pollution and health issues between farmers and consumers. The decision follows the increasing international pressure to gradually dispose of these chemicals and the shift towards the safer and most sustainable agricultural practices.
The meeting also decided that Phyto-Sanitary treatments should be done in the exporting countries to reduce the use of MB in Pakistan. Officials emphasized that double evaporation practices will be discouraged, which reduces importers’ costs with unnecessary exposure to harmful chemicals. With these measures, Pakistan aims to update agricultural safety standards, ensure better protection for public health, environmental sustainability, and compliance with international commercial regulations.
