Industry regulation

Pesticide’s registration in Chile

The first distinction to be made in Chile is the proposed use of pesticides. Pesticide use in the agricultural field is subject to different regulations than those use in households. The registration of pesticides for the household is supervised by the Ministry of Health and the registration of pesticides for agricultural use (agrochemicals) is supervised by SAG, which is an agency of the Ministry of Agriculture.

Pesticides registration for the household

Pesticides for the household or for sanitary use are those used to combat vectors and pests in the households, inside or outside the houses, building, industries and their industrial processes, warehouses, educational institutions, commercial premises, parks, gardens, and for ships or airplanes, as well as repellents or attractants not applied directly to human or animal skin and those contained in commercial products such as paints, varnishes, hygiene products, and others.

Before a pesticide can be commercialized in Chile, it has to undergo a lab analysis first. For this purpose, a foreigner can either create a new company or appoint someone here in Chile that will ask for the registration under his name and afterward transfers the registration to the foreign company, when it establishes a brand here in Chile.

The documentation that has to be provided is as follows:

• Formula (quantitative and qualitative)
• Monograph (including the active substance); physical and chemical characteristics, compatibility, toxicological properties; disinfecting action; application field; antidotes
• Any technical data might be considered as necessary for further information about the product.
• If it is an imported product, attach the authorization of the product for the purposes it is required in Chile from its original country, whether it be elaborated (ready for its commercialization) or the active matter, granted by the competent authority and properly registered with the official notary public in that country.
• Label format, which must include the formula of the product, preventive and sanitary recommendations for its usage, usage instructions (dose, frequency, etc.) and identification of the company.
• Two samples of the product, description of the container in which it will be sold.

Analysis methods.

The lab testing will cost depending on the active ingredients up to U$2,000.- Once the records have been checked and the report of the Public Health Institute has been received, the technical report will be processed and result in the corresponding authorization, through a decision of the Director of the respective Health Service. This will be a valid decision in the whole country, so the Service that elaborates it will have to send a copy of it to the rest of the Health Services of the country and the central ministerial level.

The duration of the whole procedure lasts about 1 year.

Pesticide’s registration to be used in the fields (agrochemicals).

Pesticide to be used in agriculture are called in Spanish plaguicida. And plaguicidas are chemicals, organic or inorganic, or natural substance that is used to combat weeds, diseases or pests potentially, capable of causing damage to organisms or objects. This includes the formulated product and the active substances with which it is formulated, with insecticidal skills, growth regulators from insects, suffocating agents, acaricides, nematicides, molluscicides, rodenticides, lagomorphic, fumigants, fungicides, bactericides, disinfectants, viricides, microbicides, wood preservatives, algaecides, herbicides, defoliants, desiccants, Phyto regulators, adjuvants, antiperspirants, attractants, pheromones, allelochemicals, repellents, crop protection coatings, inductors resistance and others that are used in agricultural and forestry activities.

Pesticides to be used in the fields or crops must be registered by SAG. Usually, foreign companies that want to market those products in Chile seek for a Chilean partner since SAG requires for the registration of such products that each company that wants to register agrochemicals have its own Technical Director that can be contacted directly by SAG. This Technical Director cannot work for more than one company in this area. Rule 1557/2014 establishes 3 ways to apply for registration: identity (mostly molecule-based), equivalence and special authorizations for research purposes. The most used way is identity. Up today no registration based on equivalence has been made and there is no clear date when SAG will allow registering based on equivalence because they are waiting to have enough registration to make this procedure feasible.

Agriculture associations can inform authorities through a regulated procedure the kind of pesticides they would like to obtain a fast track approval to target their needs in that matter. Authorities will take special account of those pesticides that can address farmers’ concerns. Therefore, we suggest companies trying to introduce new products in the Chilean market to contact those associations.

Last modified: 23/03/2020