China’s ‘toxic’ fertilizer that caused diplomatic trouble in Asia

A shipment of 20,000 tons of organic fertilizer is creating an unprecedented impasse in Asia, resulting in a diplomatic conflict between allied countries, a stopped ship, a farmers’  revolt, and the banning of a bank.

The ship in question, the Hippo Spirit, left China in September carrying tons of organic fertilizer to Colombo, a city in Sri Lanka.

The order was much awaited since the Sri Lankan government decided in May to immediately stop all imports of chemical fertilizers, seeking to make the country the first in the world to have fully organic agriculture.

The 20,000-ton shipment in Septemberthe was the first shipment of a 99,000-tons purchase from the Qingdao Seawin Biotech group, a Chinese company specializing in seaweed-based fertilizers. The order cost US$49.7 million (about R$274 million).

But upon arriving in Sri Lanka, technicians and scientists did not approve entry.

“Our tests with samples showed that the (Chinese) fertilizer was not sterilized,” Ajantha de Silva, director-general of the Sri Lanka Department of Agriculture, explained to the BBC. “We’ve identified bacteria that are harmful to plants like carrots and potatoes.”

Sri Lankan officials and technicians then determined that if the cargo posed a risk to the country’s biosecurity, it could not be accepted.

The decision prompted an angry response from Qingdao Seawin, which accused the Sri Lankan media of using terms like “toxic, garbage, pollution” and other derogatory words to “defame the image of Chinese companies and the Chinese government.”

In a statement, the Chinese company wrote that the “unscientific method of detection and deliberation of the National Plant Quarantine Service of Sri Lanka obviously does not comply with international conventions.”

As the conflict escalated, a Sri Lankan court ordered the state-owned Sri Lankan People’s Bank to stop a $9 million payment for the cargo that was awaiting entry.

Source: G1

To read the full original article, visit the link:

https://g1.globo.com/mundo/noticia/2021/11/18/o-adubo-toxico-da-china-que-causou-problema-diplomatico-na-asia.ghtml

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