Pepper Treated with Anthrax Control Agent 'Hexaconazole' Now Eligible for Export to Japan

Rural Development Administration and Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Agree on Hexaconazole Residue Limit
Residue Limit Set at 0.2 mg/kg and Full Inspection Order Lifted

The use of 'hexaconazole' for controlling anthracnose on chili peppers exported to Japan has been approved.

The Rural Development Administration announced on the 14th that, after two years of consultations with Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, it set the maximum residue limit (MRL) for hexaconazole, a pesticide used to control anthracnose in chili pepper cultivation, in Japan as of the 18th of last month.

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With the establishment of the MRL for hexaconazole in Japan, domestic farmers growing chili peppers for export to Japan can now use hexaconazole to control anthracnose. This measure also lifted the mandatory 100% inspection order for hexaconazole residues on Korean chili peppers. The MRL for hexaconazole agreed upon with Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare is 0.2 mg per 1 kg.

Until now, Japan had no MRL for hexaconazole on chili peppers, effectively banning its use. If hexaconazole was detected in chili peppers exported to Japan, customs clearance was denied. In response to two detections of hexaconazole, a banned pesticide, in Korean chili peppers in 2021, Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare implemented a mandatory 100% inspection order for hexaconazole on Korean chili peppers starting May 27, 2021. Subsequently, until May of this year, hexaconazole was detected eight times in domestic chili peppers during Japanese customs inspections, making exports difficult.

The Rural Development Administration conducted residue tests for hexaconazole on chili peppers domestically to establish the MRL in Japan. Based on these results, they requested the establishment of the MRL from Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare in November 2022 and have been continuously negotiating since then.

The Rural Development Administration plans to produce and distribute pesticide safety guidelines containing the MRL and safe usage methods of hexaconazole to domestic farmers cultivating chili peppers for export to Japan, as well as provide education and consultation.

Lee Hee-dong, head of the Residual Chemical Evaluation Division at the Rural Development Administration, said, "To promote agricultural product exports, we will continue to gather opinions from the agricultural field and actively negotiate with export destination countries to establish MRLs for pesticides that have become obstacles in the export process."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.