Brazil, the largest market for Thiamethoxam, tightened its controls

Brazil's Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama) has announced restrictions on how the insecticide Thiamethoxam can be applied, a decision that has drawn strong opposition from farmers and Syngenta, the product's manufacturer.

Ibama said the spraying of Thiamethoxam by machinery such as tractors or agricultural aircraft is no longer permitted, but its use for seed treatment and land preparation is still permitted. Scientific evidence and expert opinion show that Thiamethoxam is toxic to bees and other pollinators, and its use has been restricted or banned in other countries.

Syngenta, the developer of Thiamethoxam and registered in more than 80 countries, says its product is safe for all uses and has criticized Brazil for imposing restrictions without consulting the agriculture ministry that will hurt local farmers. The company said it was taking legal and administrative measures to mitigate the impact on farmers.

Thiamethoxam was discovered by Ciba Geigy in 1991, marketed in 1997, and its patent expired on July 20, 2013. In the 8 years from 2003 to 2011, the compound annual growth rate of Thiamethoxam was 22.21%. In 2017, China's global sales of Thiamethoxam was about 1.1 billion US dollars, ranking second. More than 60% of the original drugs of Thiamethoxam in China are used for export, and the export places of South America and Southeast Asia have not issued a ban on the use of policies, of which Brazil is its largest market, and it is expected that the restriction measures will have a significant impact on the production and export of Thiamethoxam pesticides in China and the global export trade of agricultural products