At a Untied Nations (UN) sponsored meeting in Montreal, 11 developed countries have been given an temporary exemption to phasing out of the toxic pesticide methyl bromide. methyl bromide is a fumigant that kills soil and food pests and is due to be phased out by developed nations by January 1, 2005, under the 1987 Montreal Protocol to protect the atmosphere. But at the Montreal meeting, Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Greece, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States were granted exemptions. The exemptions are intended to give farmers, fumigators and other users of methyl bromide some additional time to adopt cost-effective substitutes. Governments and the private sector will have to work much harder to speed up the development of suitable of ozone-friendly replacements. UNEP. "FlowerTech" www.HortiWorld.com