Recently, Eurostat released a statistical report on pesticide sales data in the EU in 2020, and compared and analyzed the situation in 2011 from the EU as a whole and each member state.
EU pesticide sales generally stable
From 2011 to 2020, the overall sales volume of pesticides in the EU remained stable within the range of 350,000 tons/year ± 6%. 346,000 tons in 2020, up from 333,000 tons in 2019.
Figure 1 2011-2020 EU pesticide sales (tons) (Image source: Eurostat)
Germany, Spain, France and Italy, the major agricultural producing countries in the EU, have always been firmly in the top 4 of the EU pesticide market. Pesticide sales are at the forefront of most major pesticide categories in the EU. These countries account for 51% of the EU's total agricultural use area, 49% of the EU's total arable land, and about two-thirds of the EU's total pesticide sales.
Fungicide sales consistently ranked first
Eurostat classifies pesticides into 6 categories: fungicides/bactericides, herbicides/defoliants/mossicides, insecticides/acaricides, molluscicides, plant growth regulators and others .
From 2011 to 2020, the sales ranking of each pesticide category in the EU was relatively stable. The sales volume of fungicides/bactericides always ranked first, followed by herbicides/defoliants/mossicides, and the sales in the EU were all ten. At the 10,000-ton level, the sales volume of pesticides/acaricides ranked third at the 10,000-ton level.
Figure 3 Fungicide/Bactericide Sales Share by Product Type
(Image source: Eurostat)
In 2020, inorganic fungicides accounted for more than half of sales in the fungicide/bactericide category (Figure 3). Inorganic fungicides mainly include copper preparations, sulfur preparations, etc., many of which are allowed to be used in organic agriculture.
Figure 4 Herbicide/Defoliant/Bryo Remover Sales Share by Product Type
(Image source: Eurostat)
Organophosphorus herbicides represented by glyphosate are the top-selling herbicides/defoliants/mossicides (Figure 4). At present, the EU re-evaluation of glyphosate is in progress. For details, please refer to the previous article of REO for relevant information.
Figure 5 Insecticide/Acaricide Sales Share by Product Type
(Image source: Eurostat)
More than 90% of sales in the insecticide/acaricide category came from other insecticides (Figure 5). This category is rich in substances, including about 30 different insect attractants (chemically classified as "Straight-Chain Lepidopteran Pheromones (SCLP)"), among others.
The SCLP has just passed the re-evaluation in the EU a few days ago, and the latest approval is valid from September 1, 2022 to August 30, 2037. It should be noted that most of the SCLP specifications have undergone major changes after the re-evaluation, and the latest approved specifications have been published in the SANTE/10828/2021 evaluation report.
The sales of the top three types of pesticides in major agricultural producing countries increased steadily
Eurostat looked at pesticide sales in 2011 and 2020 for 16 member states that provided unclassified data for all major pesticide categories and found that total pesticide sales in these countries fell by 7.3% in 2020 compared to 2011 . However, the actual situation varies from country to country and pesticide category.
Statistics were made on the pesticide sales data of the top 5 countries (Spain, Italy, France, Germany and Poland) in the EU pesticide sales list for a long time in the past ten years.
Statistics show that, excluding Italy, in 2020, the total sales volume of fungicides/bactericides, herbicides/defoliants/mossicides and insecticides/acaricides that made a major contribution to EU pesticide sales Both increased compared to 2011.
The most obvious growth is in Spain, where total sales of fungicides/bactericides, herbicides/defoliants/mossicides and insecticides/acaricides in 2020 increased by about 24.5% compared to 2011.
In addition, Austrian pesticide sales in 2020 were also significantly higher than in 2011, mainly due to the high use of inert gases in Austria for the storage of agricultural products.
Table 1 Specific data of EU pesticide sales in 2020 vs 2011 (tons)
SOURCE: REACH24H
