The Department of Agriculture wants to control the use of agricultural chemicals, including those on its watch list, raising hopes of increased food safety.
Suwit Chaikiattiyos, its director-general, said Thursday the Hazards Act lets the department control the amount of potentially harmful chemicals used, to alleviate the effect on people's health and the environment.
The law also limits imports of harmful chemicals or allows for the import of safer substitutes.
"It is a sensitive issue involving many stakeholders, including chemical importers,'' he said. "We do need to listen to their voices first and proceed with caution. Our legal team is studying the issue and focusing on watch-list chemicals only," he said.
The department says there are 11 chemicals on the watch list, mostly categorised as insecticides, such as aldicarb, methomyl and oxamyl. Oxamyl is already banned in the United States.
Herbicides remain common farm-related chemical imports, according to the department.
Its figures show a steady decline in herbicide imports, which stood at 119,971 tonnes last year, down from 137,049 tonnes in 2013.
By contrast, insecticide imports have fallen sharply, from 21,485 tonnes in 2013 down to 11,016 tonnes last year.
The country imported 172,826 tonnes of farm-related chemicals worth 24 billion baht in 2013. Last year, imports fell to 149,546 tonnes valued at 19 billion baht.
Mr Suwit admitted the department's plan to control farm chemical imports might not lead to a sudden, sharp drop in overall imports.
However, at least it will help limit the amount of hazardous chemicals used in the farming sector, which could reduce chemical residues in produce and make food safer.
Earlier, the department said it was compiling a comprehensive list of potentially hazardous farm chemicals. Such chemicals become hazardous if used in excessive amounts or not as directed.
Mr Suwit denied the department was rushing the measure, saying staff were taking into account product analysis, toxicity studies and test results.
About 90 requests a month for private firms' farm chemical imports are approved for registration by a sub-committee responsible.
About 4,300 requests are pending consideration. They are among 9,534 requests submitted since 2011. However, many sought for registration duplicate chemicals already registered. The department has also banned 98 chemicals.
He said while the number of chemicals registered may be increasing, it does not expand the volume of chemical imports, given the department's efforts to regulate the use of chemicals on farms.