Global Agrochemical Sales Down

PAN 16mar01

Global pesticide sales were down 1.8% in real terms in 2000, according to a review by the Edinburgh-based consultants Allan Woodburn Associates. (This figure does not take into account the effects of inflation and currency factors.) The 2000 decline in sales followed a 5.2% drop in 1999.

Despite the overall decline, sales in North America were up 2.8% to US$8.8 billion, due in part to increased U.S. soybean plantings. There was a downturn in Canadian and Mexican markets, however, which Woodburn Associates attributed to low crop prices and weather conditions.

In Europe, agrochemical sales were down 2.5% due to historically low commodity prices. When viewed in dollar terms, European sales fell by 13.7% to US$6,530 due to the weakness of the Euro currency. The European share of the global market fell from 25.2% in 1999 to 21.9% in 2000.

In other regions:

• Sales of pesticides in Latin America were up 2% to US$3.8 billion, primarily in Argentina and Brazil.
• After five years of decline, Japanese sales of agrochemicals increased 3% in 2000, in large part because of stinkbug and cutworm infestations that were more severe than normal.
• The Chinese pesticide market remained the same due in part to widespread drought and reduced crop plantings.
• Sales in the Asia/Pacific region in general were up by 10.5% to US$7,590.

Allan Woodburn Associates predicts that the global agrochemical market will increase by 1% on average each year over the next five years to approximately US$31.4 billion in 2005.

Source: Agrow: World Crop Protection News, March 2, 2000.