CLI: Counterfeits Not Exported From China
18 March 2009 Counterfeit crop protection products don’t come from China. OK, maybe they do, but they are not exported as counterfeits. Chinese companies, by and large, export legal products to global buyers, who then use the active ingredients from Chinese formulators to create counterfeit products with new packaging, according to D’Arcy Quinn, director of anti-counterfeiting for CropLife International.
Quinn cited one incident in Ukraine where officials seized 560 tonnes of chemicals allegedly shipped to the Ukraine mafia in Odessa. The bulk actives originated from a Chinese formulator that did not know the intent of the buyers. It will cost Ukraine US$1.5 million to dispose of the products properly.
Such large shipments should be an alert for Chinese producers that they might not be working with credible trade partners. A handful of shipments has been seized in the past three months in Paraguay totaling more than 100 tonnes, which is more than the country can use, Quinn says.
“This issue has nothing to do with international property rights and everything to do with good business practices and transparency in shipping so that we can protect the export market in China,” he says.
CropLife International has established a program to help exporters know their trade partners. The program includes a database of illicit buyers and a module that analyzes buyer profiles to help determine if they are legitimate.
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