Statistics Poland

Agriculture and Environment Department

00-925 Warsaw, Al. Niepodległości 208

See sub-concepts below.

The survey is conducted by the Statistics Poland in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) along with their subordinate unit - the Institute of Plant Protection – National Research Institute (IPP-NRI). Since 2018, only holders of permits for  authorization for placing plant protection products (PPP) on the market and permits for parallel import of plant protection products issued by the MARD are taken into account.

The data set comprises the annual volume of sales for one calendar year of plant protection products, placed on the market in Poland, according to Regulation (EC) No 1185/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2009 concerning statistics on pesticides and its amendment by Commission Regulation (EU) 2021/2010 of 17 November 2021 amending Regulation (EC) No 1185/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning statistics on pesticides, as regards the list of active substances.

The legal basis for the survey G-04 is provided by Article 30, Point 3 of the Law of 29 June 1995 on Official Statistics (Journal of Laws No. 88, Item 439, with later amendment), and the Regulation of the Council of Ministers of 7 October of 2022 on the programme of statistical surveys of official statistics for 2023. (Journal of Law 2022, item 2453).

• Law on Public Statistics.
• Statistical confidentiality.
• The programme of statistical surveys of official statistics for 2023. The link only available in Polish.

Statistics Poland.

• Law on Public Statistics: 1995.
• The programme of statistical surveys of official statistics for 2023: 2022.

National legislation covers all variables required under EU regulation.

Full compliance with EU regulation.

The data are expressed in kilograms of active substances.

The classification of the active substances in plant protection products is set at Annex III of the Regulation (EC) No 1185/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning statistics on pesticides, amended by  Commission Regulation (EU) 2021/2010 of 17 November 2021 amending Regulation (EC) No 1185/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning statistics on pesticides, as regards the list of active substances. The active substances are classified according to chemical and functional similarity. Aggregation levels in descending order comprise: major groups, categories of products, chemical classes and active substances.

The statistics cover the wholesale trade sector operating in placing plant protection products on the market.

All authorisation holders of plant protection products report the quantity of plant protection product that are placed on the market nationally (incl. import data).

This data collection comprises pesticide sales data based on the term 'placing on the market' as defined in Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market. The scope of the Regulation covers plant protection products and their active substances as can be seen from the key terms of the act immediately below:

Plant protection products: products consisting of or containing active substances, safeners or synergists, and intended for one of the following uses:

• protecting plants or plant products against all harmful organisms or preventing the action of such organisms, unless the main purpose of these products is considered to be for reasons of hygiene rather than for the protection of plants or plant products;
• influencing the life processes of plants, such as substances influencing their growth, other than as a nutrient;
• preserving plant products, in so far as such substances or products are not subject to special Community provisions on preservatives;
• destroying undesired plants or parts of plants, except algae unless the products are applied on soil or water to protect plants;
• checking or preventing undesired growth of plants, except algae unless the products are applied on soil or water to protect plants.

Active substances: substances, including micro-organisms having general or specific action against harmful organisms or on plants, parts of plants or plant products.

Quantity: implies kilograms of the active substances placed on the market.

Regulation (EC) No 1185/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishes a common framework for the systematic production of Community statistics on the placing on the market and agricultural use of those pesticides which are plant protection products as defined in Article 2 (a)(i). The statistics shall apply to the annual amounts of pesticides active substances placed on the market in accordance with Annex I and the quantity of active substances shall be aggregated according to the list in Annex III (as amended).

Statistical unit is the enterprise placing plant protection products on the market; authorisation holder or holder of parallel trade permits. Ultimately, in 2023, the survey covered 266 entities and 2787 plant protection products.

All enterprises placing plant protection products on the market: holders of authorization for placing plant protection products on the market and holders of parallel trade permits.

See sub-concepts below.

The entire territory of the country.

Not applicable.

2011-23.

Not applicable for pesticide sales statistics, because it is not based on an index number of time series.

See sub-concepts below.

See sub-concepts below.

Not applicable.

The source dataset originates from the reports on the sales of PPPs based on the G-04 questionnaire. These reports are submitted by holders (including proxies of entities having their registered offices outside Poland and without a REGON - nine-digit identifier given to the entity in the National Official Register of Entities of the National Economy, if applicable) of authorization for placing plant protection products on the market or permit for parallel trade of plant protection product (both issued by MARD). It is a full-scale obligatory survey.

In the G-04 form, aside from PPPs explicitly assigned to the entity holding the authorization, it was also permissible to report sales of products whose authorizations were transferred (change in authorization or permit holder) during the reporting period.

Annually.

The survey was conducted by the Statistics Poland in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), along with its subordinate unit - the Institute of Plant Protection – National Research Institute (IPP-NRI).

Data was collected using electronic questionnaires submitted to Statistics Poland Reporting Portal (polish abbreviation - PS) and was dedicated for reporting by units holding REGON id number. Reporting Portal PS was tested for functionality before the survey by teams from the Agriculture and Environment Department and Statistical Office in Olsztyn in cooperation with developers from IT center in Radom. The deadline for providing data to PS was March 10, 2024.

Additionally, for units without REGON number, the MARD sent personalized questionnaires (.xls) directly to proxies representing such entities – based on a list provided by Statistics Poland. This part of the survey covered 193 entities with registered offices abroad and 4 domestic entities.
Furthermore, after March 10, 2024, it was necessary to send official reminders to  some of the units regarding their reporting obligations (79 foreign entities and 19 domestic). In May 2024 it was also required to send a final reminder to not responding units (36 foreign and 18 domestic). 

Moreover to the above rules, entities employing up to 5 persons were allowed to submit data in paper format. However, no reports were submitted in this format. Electronic data (RA-01 forms in .xls format) containing plant protection product sales were submitted via email by three reporting units employing 5 or fewer persons.

After data collection it was also necessary to perform verifications, including checking cases where the same plant protection product was reported by different companies and confirming the absence of sales. Individual clarifications with unites were also conducted.

Finally the survey covered 266 entities and 2787 plant protection products.

The completed forms were sent directly to the regional Statistical Office in Olsztyn. The processing of the obtained data was carried out on dedicate IT system developed by the Statistical Office in Olsztyn.

Collective data compilations in natural units (litre, kg) were submitted to the MARD, which forwarded them to the IPP - NRI where the sales of PPPs were converted from natural units into active substances. IPP– NRI IPP–NRI then aggregated the data, recalculated it according to the Eurostat classification (updated Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 1185/2009), and compiled the final results tables. Additionally, IPP–NRI identified classes, categories, and groups of PPPs marked as confidential, in accordance with the provisions of the Act on Public Statistics.

Not applicable for pesticide sales statistics, because the data collection is not based on time series.

See sub-concepts below.

The processes of data collection and data processing  is under a constant control of each involving in the survey unit. In Statistics Poland,  the G-04 survey is under evaluation of the Quality Reports carried out by the Department of Standards and Registers. The evaluation criteria (ex ante, ex post) of statistical surveys subject to quality reports are:
-The statistical process from the point of view of: the accuracy of the study, the burden of respondents, the costs, punctuality;
-A statistical product in terms of: the suitability of the study, its comparability and coherence.
Additionally national quality reports concerning G-04 survey is elaborated every year.
Furthermore the quality is assured by the data analyses and consultations with reporting units  carried out by workers  of regional office of Statistics Poland in Olsztyn. All data are checked in terms of completeness and consistency.
To ensure the quality of processes and products, Statistics Poland applies the EFQM
Excellence Model, the EU Statistical Practices Code and the ESS Quality Assurance Principles (QAF).Statistics Poland is also guided by the requirements provided for in § 7. "Principles and qualitycriteria for the creation of official statistics" of the Act on public statistics. Currently is in force the internal regulation No. 35 of the President of the Statistics Poland of 28 December 2011 on measuring, evaluating and monitoring the quality of statistical surveys in official statistics services (regulation), art. 1: “In order to improve the quality of statistical surveys, the following requirements are introduced: the principles of the European Statistical Code of Practice; an annual action plan in the field of quality and long-term directions included in the programming documents of Polish official statistics;the nature of the tools related to the measurement, evaluation and monitoring of the quality of surveys in official statistics to be used by departments of the Statistics Poland and statistical offices, hereinafter referred to as "proprietary units", as part of their surveys.
In order to implement measures to improve quality, the Statistics Poland conducts: training in quality in official statistics; develops a quality review plan and guidelines and instructions for test authors; places information on data quality in publications and statistical studies as well as in metadata. Among the activities aimed at continuous improvement of the quality of official statistics, works are carried out in the field of improvement of data collection methods, including the electronic form of data collection in economic surveys and CAII, CAPI, CATI methods, building a new organization of statistical surveys; integration of economic research and social research; improving the quality of sampling frames for statistical surveys; increasing the use of administrative sources; development of work on public databases; conducting standardization activities in terms of concepts, variables, classifications, code lists, units of measurement, methodology and other metadata used in statistical surveys; expanding knowledge in the field of quality and motivating statisticians to take steps to continuously improve the quality of statistical surveys by: conducting trainings, including e-learning, developing instructions and guidelines, and providing educational information via the Intranet and the Internet; improvement of the metadata system; monitoring the quality of statistical processes through self-assessment and quality reviews; developing activities for research on respondent burden and user satisfaction; identifying and popularizing good practices in the field of increasing the quality in the national statistical system; conducting training on quality in official statistics.

Strengths:

1. Data is based on trade documentation of reporting entities;
2. Data is submitted through electronic questionnaires;
3. The respondent burden is reduced by introducing a filtering question;
4.  All entities which provided a positive response to the filtering question indicated sales of at least one ppp.
5. Personalization on Statistics Poland webform. Entities submitted the data on sale can see the list of ppp for which they posses MARD authorization.
6. Starting from the survey for 2018, a solution of collecting data only from authorization holders has been implemented. MARD will remind (by email) to representatives of foreign companies with no REGON number about the reporting obligation. Due to the involvement of MARD and the possibility of sanctions for not providing data, the completeness of the study improved significantly.
7. Regular meetings with permit holders organized by MARD have a positive effect on their willingness to cooperate and result in improving the quality of the survey.

Weakness:

1. The procedures related to the final list of PPPs and reporting entities provided by MARD require further development. Currently, its tidying up requires additional work on the part of the Statistical Office in Olsztyn and makes whole survey more time-consuming.
2. The number of negative answers (66 units with RA = 03 in 2023). This phenomenon is difficult to assess. The above mentioned data gaps probably contributed to a small extent to the final volume of sales of PPPs in Poland.

See sub-concepts below.

Data users include central offices, scientific and research institutes, students and enterprises operating in the agricultural sector.

Users of information from the report of the G-04 did not report additional needs. On this basis, we believe that they are fully satisfied with the obtained data. They make full use of the information presented in the publications of the Department of Agriculture, that is. "Agriculture in the year", "The means of production in agriculture in the farming year" and "Statistical Yearbook of Agriculture." Data from G-04 report as well as from other Statistics Poland PPPs surveys was assesed by MARD as usefull in the context of settlement of the implementation of the SUD (Sustainable Use) directive.

The data collection covers all active substances of plant protection products placed on the national market and the information of all authorisation holders.

100%.

See sub-concepts below.

See sub-concepts below.

Not applicable for pesticide sales statistics, because the data collection is not based on samples, but covers the whole statistical population of authorisation holders and plant protection products placed on the national market.

There is established set of validation rules in place, which makes the probability of such errors to a minimum. Due to this, we did not notice errors when entering data or resulting from not following the instructions. However, in contacts with respondents there were inquiries regarding the full settlement of previously held stocks. It was about their partial or complete utilization and flows between enterprices within one group.

Until 2017 the report failed to cover the entities not holding a REGON number, which have obtained authorisation for PPP marketing, granted by the MARD. Pursuant to Article 30 of the Law of 29 June 1995 on Official Statistics (Journal of Laws No. 88, Item 439, with later amendment), the obligation to submit statistical data applies to those entities of the national economy which hold an identification number  in the national official register of entities of the national economy (referred to as the REGON number). From 2018 the solution of that issue was implemented and currently the sale data are collected only from MARD authorizations holders (including proxies of foreign entities which do not posses the REGON number).

Not applicable for pesticide sales statistics as the data stem from one source.

There is established set of validation rules on PS platform, which makes the probability of such errors to a minimum. Thanks to this, we did not notice errors when entering data or resulting from not following the instructions.

With a view to achieving the highest level of completeness, the following filtering question was introduced: “Did you deal with the production or importation of PPPs with in the reporting period?” The response to this question allows for satisfying the reporting obligation (confirming negative reports).

31,2%. As a result of calculation: RA03+RA24+RA14 / with obligation = 66+17+0/266 * 100% = 31.2%), where:RA03-entities participating in the survey, which gave an negative answer, RA24-entities not participating in the survey due to lack of contact, RA14-entities not participating in the survey due to lack of activity as a result of the bankruptcy or liquidation process.

0.0%

All entities indicated sales of at least 1 plant protection product in relation to positive units.

In G-04 form in addition to PPPs rigidly assigned to the authorization held by the entity, it is possible to add an additional range of PPP sales (callled alien PPP). An analysis of these 'alien' PPPs - not related to the authorization held by the entity allows obtaining missing data and improves the survey completness.

With a view to avoiding errors, certain assumptions were made to the G-04 questionnaire verification process in logical and accounting terms.

The report should list PPPs included in the dictionary (List of PPPs compiled on the basis of the Register of PPPs admitted to marketing with the consent of the MARD. Thanks to the personalization functionality, the reporting entity has displayed the id and names of PPPs for which it has a permit. If in the current year it has recorded any sales volume, it completes the fields in columns from 3 to 7. If it does not sell, leave it blank. For those PPPs that he sold, but did not have a permit, then in field 1, the entity should open the attached glossary and select the PPP from the list. Commodity code, name and unit of measure will be loaded automatically when you select an item from the dictionary. As above, he must complete the fields in columns 3 to 7.

In box 3 it should indicate total sales of PPP, of which in box 4 from production, in box 5 from import, in box 6 from previous years' stock. In box 7 stock at the end of the reporting year should be submitted.

Saving the data starts the procedure that verifies the entered values. If the data contains errors, appropriate messages are displayed on the form. Absolute errors are signaled with a warning icon (X), and their occurrence prevents the form from being approved. The appearance of the icon with an exclamation mark indicates a discretionary error that can be approved, provided that it is justified. It is possible to display all errors in the report. Any entry on an approved report will result in the withdrawal of approval and such report must be reapproved.

Data on the G-04 form must comply with the following correctness rules:

1. Answer to the filtering question ("During the reporting period, did you deal with the sale of PPPs from own production, from import / import or from stock?") is obligatory.
2. In column 1, select an item from the list of PPPs. The selected item cannot appear on other lines.
3. If a PPP is selected, at least one of the boxes 3 to 7 must be completed.
4. Quantitative data in the report (boxes 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7) should be shown in the measurement units given in box 2 (kg or l), with one decimal place.
5. In each line, sales 'Total' must equal the sum of sales from production, sales from import and from last year's inventories, i.e. the relationship must be:col 3 = col 4 + col 5 + col 6.

Failure to meet the above conditions is an absolute error that should be explained and corrected.

0,00%

Not applicable for pesticide sales statistics, because the data collection is not based on estimations.

Not applicable for pesticide sales statistics, because the reported data on plant protection products covers the whole year.

Data revision policy in the Statistics Poland is based on the principles of the European Statistics Code of Practice. There are no planned revisions as such. The reasons for a revision may be mistakes in data source or errors made in the process of recalculations/aggregations or due to the changes in the methodology or data sources. Only finalised data are transmitted to Eurostat.

The data verification and revision procedure varies depending on the type of publication and the severity of the error.

On the stage of data collection in cases where submitted data seem abnormal or suspiciously compared to last year's data, e.g. when there is a problem with previous year PPPs stock settlement, data providers are contacted again in order to clarify.

In the case when the error is detected after online dissemination (where the publication is purely on-line), it will be corrected and published on the Web with an explanatory note. When the error was detected after the dissemination  of a given publication (including in the paper version), the data is changed in the next edition of the publication with a clear indication that the data has been changed in relation to the previously published.

Not applicable.

See sub-concepts below.

According to the Regulation (EC) No 1185/2009, the data is published by Eurostat 15 months after the end of the reference year and the national quality report 20 months after the end of the reference year. Only final data are reported to Eurostat.

At national level, preliminary data (in commodity mass) are usually published around 3-4 months after the end of data collection process (depending on publication release schedule), while deadline for final data converted into active substances is depended on term of data recalculatioms by IPP NRI and approval by MARD, as well as on publication schedule.

• For 2023 reference year no first results were disseminated.
• Not applicable at European level as the data and national quality reports for pesticide sales statistics are only published once in a final results.

At national level the final data on amount of PPP converted into active substances are published at deadline  depended on term of  data recalculatioms by IPP-NRI and approval by MARD, as well as on the publication schedule. The final data for 2023 were published in 30 November 2024 due to the neccessity of making data confidential (determination of confidentiality flags).

The provision of data to Eurostat was made in a timely manner. At Eurostat level the deadlines are as below:

•  15 months after the end of the reference period for the data;
•  20 months after the end of the reference period for the national quality report.

According to the Regulation (EC) No 1185/2009, data must be transmitted until 30 December of the year t+1, and national quality reports until 31 March of the year t+2.

Data is submitted in a timely manner.

Not applicable.

See sub-concepts below.

Data are collected on a country level (NUTS 0). They are not comparable on a regional level. The geographical comparability between countries is evaluated by Eurostat.

Not applicable, because there are no mirror flows in pesticide sales statistics.

Until 2004 an incomplete set of PPPs permitted to turnover and usage was covered by statistical surveys of sales of PPPs, as only the set of most frequent used PPPs was surveyed. The list of PPPs was established every year by MARD in consultation with Main Inspectorate of Plant Health and Seed Inspection; the choice was motivated by economic meaning and by value of sales (in 2003, the statistical survey covered the sales of 357 products, and in 2004 the sales of 321 products).

Since 2005, all PPPs allowed for using and trading in Poland are surveyed (in 2023, for example, 2787 PPPs were covered by the survey).

19 years (2005-2023).

Comparability of variables from the sale and consumption of PPPs statistics in the range:

• The method of converting the sales/consumption of PPPs from natural units into active substances,
• Aggregation of data by Harmonised Classification of Substances.

Not applicable for pesticide sales statistics, because the data collection is annual.

Not applicable, because it is not related to national accounts.

Not applicable.

See sub-concepts below.

No news release.

The Statistics Poland publications present the sales of PPPs at various aggregate levels by trading volume and active substance. They also include data-related remarks and a short survey methodology. The paper Statistics Poland publications are available for a fee while their electronic versions can be accessed free of charge:

• Agriculture in 2023:  Statistics Poland / Topics / Agriculture. Forestry / Agriculture / Agriculture in 2023 - (In the archive tab, you will find old publications from years 2003-2022).
• Statistical yearbook of agriculture 2024: Statistics Poland / Topics / Statistical yearbooks / Statistical Yearbooks / Statistical Yearbook of the Republic of Poland 2024 - (In the archive tab, you will find old publications from years 2007-2023).
• Means of production in agriculture in the 2022/23 farming year:“Statistics Poland / Topics / Agriculture. Forestry / Agriculture / Means of production in agriculture in the 2022/23 farming year  (In the archive tab, you will find old publications from years 2002-2020).

Currently the online database on the Ministry website is no longer available.

Not applicable.

In principle micro-data (amount of PPPs placed on market by individual permit holder) are not also disseminated. Data converted into each active substances  (in accordance with Annex III to 1185/2009) are also not published. Only some aggregations of active substances (main groups and categories) are published annually. However, for scientific purposes, individual quantities of each active substance are accessible on demand (if not confidential). On request, we can also provide non-standard aggregations of active substances for scientific purposes (if they are not classified as confidential). In order to obtain information on data from specified year, user should submit request on the form available on Statistics Poland website.

No other documents.

I. The list of PPPs: The list of PPPs is established using the database referred to as “The register of authorized PPPs on the market and use”, kept by MARD. It comprises all PPPs which have been admitted to marketing and use. While establishing the list, the following items from the database were taken into consideration: whether a given PPP is included in the updated register, the product authorisation date and the date of authorisation for the products which have been withdrawn from the market.
II. Until 2017 the list of producers and importers (the survey file) was in force: It was established using the information included in the database referred to as “The register of authorized PPPs on the market and use” and other information available to MARD, regarding the entities dealing with the placing of PPPs on the market. The list of producers and importers was limited to enterprises marketing only such products that could be sold in the surveyed year. The list of entities was created based on information on conducting such activities in previous years, was updated with the list of entities which obtained new MARD permits and suplemented with information from the Foreign Trade Database was also used about units that showed export or import of PPPs - code 3808 of the  CN (The Combined Nomenclature). The list included only entities from the Statistics Poland Database - having Polish REGON (id of economic activity). From 2018 report G-04 is fulfilled exclusively by a natural or legal person authorized to place a PPPs on the market (manufacturer, importer, manufacturer's or importer's representative), introducing the PPP for the needs of agriculture in the country. 

Register of plant protection products  operated by MARD is in force (see current list).

This register contains 2 sheets: register of plant protection products and list of entities placing PPP on the market with the permit number (producers and authorizations holders).

III. The method of converting the sales of plant protection products from natural units into active substances: The list of sales of plant protection products in natural units, established by Statistics Poland in Excel format, provides the source data. The said list is imported to the SQL Server database in IPP – NRI. The conversion into active substances entails calculating the content of active substances in each preparation and then multiplying the sales value or the preparation stock by the obtained content index. The resultant values are then aggregated by active substance. The index reflecting the active substance content in a given preparation is calculated as follows:

1. If the active substance content is in gram per 1 litre of the preparation, the formula is:         

wzsa = zsagl [g/l] / 1000

2. If the active substance content is in gram per 1 kilograme of the preparation, the formula is:     

wzsa = zsagkg [g/kg] / 1000

3. If the active substance content is given as percent of the preparation mass, the formula is:    If in this case the natural unit corresponds to litres, the sales value is additionally multiplied by the plant production product density.  

wzsa = zsa [%] / 100

wzsa – the index of the active substance content in the preparation;         

zsagl – the active substance content per 1 litre of the preparation in gram;

zsagkg – the active substance content per 1 kilogram of the preparation in gram;     

zsa – the active substance content in the preparation.

Not requested.

Not requested.

The respondent burden, i.e. the time spent on preparing the questionnaire data, amounted to 187 hours (61 minutes * 183 units = 187 hours), while the time spent on filling in the questionnaires reached 116 hours (38 minutes * 183 units = 116 hours). Institute of Plant Protection based on targeted subsidy of MARD for IPP-NRI for 2023 leads work on the calculations, data aggregation, operation and maintenance of databases. The annual cost of these activities is about 45 thousand PLN. Please note that this amount is estimated.

The cost of the administrative respondent burdens totalled PLN 12 904,77. The burden calculations were made on the basis of an average monthly wage and salary in the national economy (according to the announcement of President of the Statistics Poland of February 9, 2024 on the average remuneration in the national economy in 2023).

See sub-concepts below.

The Statistics Poland confidentiality policy is governed by the Law of 29 June 1995 on Official Statistics (Journal of Laws No. 88, Item 439, with later amendment) and by the Internal Regulation No.12 of the Statistics Poland President of 2 April 2014 – the Principles of Statistical Data Processing. The notion of statistical confidentiality is defined in the Law of 29 June 1995 on Official Statistics (Journal of Laws No. 88, Item 439, with later amendment) and, in particular, in Article 10 thereof which stipulates that “The individual and personal data collected and gathered in the statistical surveys of official statistics shall be confidential and subject to particular protection; the data shall be used exclusively for statistical calculations, compilations and analyses, and for the creation by the statistical services of official statistics sampling frames for statistical surveys conducted by those services; provision or use of individual and personal data for other purposes than specified above shall be prohibited”. Article 12 of the said Law also refers to statistical confidentiality. It provides a detailed list of staff members of the official statistical services. Having direct access to individual and personal data, they shall be obliged to observe statistical confidentiality without exceptions. They may be allowed to perform statistical activities only after delivering an oath in a written form in a statistical office. The content of the oath, as included in the final paragraph of Article 12, is as follows:
“I promise that I will carry out my tasks on behalf of the official statistics dutifully, in accordance with the professional ethics of a statistician and that I shall keep secret from third parties the individual data known to me while performing those tasks”.

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