Summary: In late March, China's State Council issued the urgent notice to guarantee effective transportation of key supplies such as pesticides, though some agrochemical manufacturers still hold concerns.

In late March, the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism of the State Council issued the Urgent Notice of Overall Arrangements for Epidemic Prevention and Control of Road Freight Transport and the Safety Guarantee of Key Supplies Transportation. This notice calls for strict protective measures against the spread of the epidemic through the road transportation, and for proper handling of key supplies such as medical protective equipment, key supplies of living and production, fresh agricultural products, agricultural means of production (fertilizers, pesticides, seeds, etc.), energy commodities, and postal express.

All localities and departments are requested to:

• implement strict and normalised epidemic control on freight transports and personnel;
• block the imported infection from cross-border freight vehicles at road port;
• set normative checkpoints for epidemic control on roads;
• establish a permit ("Vehicle Pass") system for key supplies transporting;
• classify and implement accurate traffic control of freight vehicles.

 

Notably, all localities should implement hierarchical and classified traffic control instead of one-size-fits-all measures, and ensure smooth pass for key supply vehicles that meet the local requirements for epidemic prevention and control and hold "Vehicle Passes", even coming from medium- and high-risk areas. Other efforts will be made, including:

• make full use of the transfer stations for key supplies for optimisation of supply emergency dispatch;
• provide proper services for freight drivers locked in the epidemic-affected areas;
• strengthen emergency transport security with 24-hours (full day) availability of related offices, to ensure a timely transportation of key supplies.

 

For agrochemical companies, the new policy is, undoubtedly, a guarantee to transportation of their pesticide products against the backdrop. However, for some, it also brings up new concerns:

• additional time of frequent nucleic acid tests on drivers;
• possibility of a persisting one-size-fits-all control implementation;
• insufficient coverage on transportation of raw chemical materials from the upstream pesticide industrials—this notice focuses on key supplies, which represents risks of supply disruption of raw materials;
• rising oil price increasing transportation costs.