In Ecuador, unlike other Latin American and European countries, fertilizers must be registered with the local competent authority, AGROCALIDAD. The registration process is regulated by the TECHNICAL MANUAL FOR THE REGISTRATION AND CONTROL OF FERTILIZERS, SOIL AMENDMENTS, AND RELATED AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS, under which fertilizers are classified into several categories, such as: Bio-stimulants, growth regulators, elicitors, biological inoculants, hydrating agents, ripening accelerators, detergents, foliage cleaners, anti-foaming agents, stress-inducing agents, preservatives, antioxidants, soil flocculants, sun radiation protectors, waxes, hydrogels, latex, removers, dehydrating agents, ethylene inhibitors, moisture retainers, organic-based substrates, disinfectants, water hardness correctors, water pH regulators, desalinizers for water and/or soil, urease inhibitors.
Registering a fertilizer or related product does not take much time in Ecuador, as long as all the required technical documents and certificates of composition, analysis, and physical-chemical properties are submitted following the regulations. The approximate time to register a fertilizer or related product in Ecuador is 6 months. However, several types of products require an internal efficacy trial by the company, specifically referring to growth regulators and biological inoculants.
Due to the nature of the product, authorities allow unregistered imports of up to 20 kg or 20 liters per shipment by the same company, provided these imports are for testing the product in the market to confirm its safety, effectiveness, and quality. Once the registration application has been submitted, there is no quantity limit on imports, as long as the application remains active.
A fertilizer can be registered in different ways, depending on the intended use, so a thorough analysis of the technical sheet can confirm the registration method.
