Fears of a possible EU ban on Thai vegetables has prompted the Thai government to order a temporary suspension of shipments, reports the Bangkok Post.
The move comes after a Thai environmental organisation discovered traces of banned pesticides in vegetables grown by local farmers.
Rapichan Phurisamban, a researcher for Biothai, told the Bangkok Post that her organisation found Thai farmers were still using hazardous chemicals carbofuran, dicrotosphos, methomyl and EPN, all or which are banned in many countries, to grow vegetables.
'The department should urgently ban these hazardous chemicals in line with international practice,' Ms Rapichan said. 'The present list of pesticides approved for use should also be reduced.'
Dr Pattapong Kessomboon, a member of the Thailand Pesticide Network, said the government was failing to stop the uncontrolled use of dangerous chemicals on vegetables in Thailand.
'We expect the EU to ban our vegetable exports soon,' he told the Bangkok Post. 'We were warned about chemical-contaminated vegetables 26 times in 2009 and up to 55 times last year. But there has been no quick response from the state agencies concerned.'
Department of agriculture director-general Jirakorn Kosaisevi told the paper the state's controls on chemicals were on the right track.
A sharp increase in pesticide use by Thai farmers in recent years has alarmed international markets, the paper said.
Thailand imported 42,089 tonnes of pesticides in 1997, but that figure rose to 137,594 in 2009.
Food and Agriculture Organisation figures for 2007 show Thailand had 27,126 agricultural chemical brands registered for use, more than much of Asia combined.
The EU recently found prohibited chemicals in imported vegetables, including basil, chillies, Chinese bitter cucumber and beans, the Bangkok Post said.
