Pesticides Makers Are Making Further Steps in Environmental Protection Renovation  

By Peter Zong  

The pollution control in China's pesticide manufacture industry has been causing more and more stress in recent years. A certain progresses have been witnessed with government's continuously increased input and stricter regulations and management, as well as pesticides makers' continuous effort in renovating their pollution control technologies and constructing new wastes treatment facilities. Nevertheless the high input and poor effectiveness are still the bottleneck for controlling pollution in the pesticide industry while most pesticide makers also reckon the pollution control problem as a big barrier for them to expand their production and business. Amid the global financial turmoil and economic slowdown, some pesticide makers even ceased their effort in treating wastes.
   In spite of difficulties, China's government has never identified the financial turmoil as a reason to loose management on pollution control. In contrast, the government became more firm in closing enterprises producing heavy pollution, which has been taken as an important measure in the recently announced ten packages of stimulus programs, to constrain the surplus capacity in some industries. This strict attitude lets the pesticide makers recognize the government's determination, an insider commented. In another aspect, the government is giving a firm support in controlling pollution and protecting environment, which cultivates a healthy investment situation for enterprises. To spur domestic demand and solve slowdown problem, the central government promulgated supporting policies one by one in protecting environment, promoting pesticides makers input more in treating wastes.      
   "With the financial crisis, the prices of various raw materials fell dramatically," said a source of Gansu Pesticide Company Ltd. "which cut down cost a lot in treating wastes. Our company, although taking the main production off-line, is addressing to renovate the wastes treatment facilities and hope to have a better and cleaner production conditions once the idle units recover operation."
    Presently, the chemical treatment agents and various environmental protection equipment and instruments are getting cheaper, bringing a happiness amid sadness to pesticide makers. Many enterprises are doing same renovation as Gansu Pesticide is doing.
   According to an expert close to China Crop Protection Industry Association, the capacity utilization on average is still at low side, which left the survived enterprises sufficient time to judge cautiously their responsibility on social sustainability development and earned them an opportunity of spending time and lower cost to do more in updating wastes treating technology, instead of merely addressing to meet the standards issued by the government.
   Hubei Sanonda Group Company, a major pesticide manufacturer with a long history now controlled by ChemChina, has also operated well below capacity since the second half of 2008, due to a softened market. Instead of busy in production, the company focused on the environmental protection works. "Controlling pollution well is equal to guarantee company's sustainability," a sales manager of the company appraised. After nearly six-months of renovation on wastes treatment, the company started a full capacity operation since the end of February, with a well satisfaction of emission. Indeed, the company has never loosed the control on its emissions. All wastes have been treated through biological method before discharging, well meeting the effluent standards announced officially by the Ministry of Environmental Protection.