Sep 04, 2018
Roundup Ban in Brazil Overturned on Appeal
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
Reuters reported that an Appellate Court judge in Brazil has overturned a lower court decision from August 3rd that banned the use of Roundup herbicide in Brazil. The judge indicated that there was no justification for such an abrupt ban on a product that could have a grave impact on the economy of the country and the population in general. He also indicated that the product had been approved by all the competent public agencies based on comprehensive studies concerning human health and the environment.
The judge's decision was the result of an appeal by the Attorney General in conjunction with the Minister of Agriculture who appealed the original decision from August 3rd that banned any product that contained glyphosate. The original decision to ban glyphosate was announced by a substitute judge in a lower court on behalf of the Brazilian Federal Public Minister, which is similar to a Consumer Protection Bureau.
This week there will be a meeting in Brasilia between the Attorney General, the Minister of Agriculture, the Federal Public Minister (MPF), and the National Plant and Animal Protection Bureau (Anvisa), which is responsible for reviewing the toxicology of new products.
The goal of the meeting is to arrange for a longer period of time for Anvisa to reevaluate the information concerning the toxicology of products that contain glyphosate as the active ingredient. The participants in the meeting want to put off any decision concerning the product until the first trimester of 2019, thus allowing the herbicide to be used by farmers during the 2018/19 growing season.
This is very good news for Brazilian farmers as the 2018/19 planting season rapidly approaches. As everyone involved in Brazilian agriculture has stated, Roundup is essential for soybean production in Brazil especially for no-till production and banning such an important tool in soybean and corn production could have been catastrophic.