MULTAN, July 7: The ministry of food, agriculture and livestock has issued another statutory notification, which observers expect, will benefit a particular group in pesticides business, taking advantage of an SRO that has yet to be approved.

The ministry issued the statutory notification (SRO 77(KE)/2004) on July 2, and through which a wheat herbicide Fenoxaprop-P-Ethyle 10 per cent EC has been excluded from the import category of form-16, which deals with the import of pesticides/herbicides available in the international market under generic names.

The product was placed on form-16 from form-1, which deals with the import of pesticides/herbicides under brand names, along with Fenoxaprop-P-Ethyle 6.9pc EW through an SRO 45(KE)/2004 issued on March 20 this year. The SRO 77, however, maintains status of the latter product on form-16.

Although, no reason is cited in the SRO to put the product again on form-1, but a source at the Plant Protection Department of the federal government told Dawn on the condition of anonymity that the 'decision' was taken in line with the recently issued SRO 399(I)/2004.

The SRO 399 has declared that a product once registered on form-1 will remain there for a period of three years before placing at form-16 (irrespective of whether its global patent rights have expired or not). The herbicide excluded from the generic list was registered by a local firm last year on form-1.

Sources said though the SRO 399 had been issued in a hush-hush manner, several stakeholders had succeeded in submitting their objections against its contents just in the nick of time on June 30.

As a normal practice, the government gives 30 days from the issuance of a draft SRO to the stakeholders and people at large to raise objections and suggestions (if any) viz-a-viz rules/amendments proposed in the notification. The SRO can be enforced after giving due hearing to the objections/suggestions.

The sources said therefore logically there could not be issued any further statutory notification on the basis of an SRO which was subjected to review. The Minfal authorities have placed some 12 products meant for cotton crop on form-16 through the SRO 77 but a product, Emamectin, which is available under the same generic name in the world market, has been kept in form-1.

Emamectin was among the few products which the Punjab agriculture department had prescribed extensively as panacea to all the ills of cotton crop last year through print and electronic media campaign.

The sources said that Emamectin was the product of the same group whose wheat herbicide had been excluded from form-16 through the same SRO 77 and it had also been left out to not place on form-16 on the basis of a three-year indemnity provided by the controversial SRO 399.