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World use of pesticides in 1999 was an estimated $28 billion at the user level, an increase of 1% from 1994. The market for herbicide-tolerant and insect-tolerant crops expanded to over $2 billion in 1999, representing a total crop protection market of over $30 billion. This increase was mainly a result of market expansions in the United States, Europe, parts of Asia, and Latin America.
By 2004, world pesticide sales will decline to $27 billion annually. This represents a real decline in worldwide use of pesticides (in terms of 1999 dollars) at an average rate of 1% per year. The decline in pesticide usage will likely be offset by increases in pest- and pesticide-tolerant crops.
The 1999 sales of pesticides are estimated at 2 million metric tons active ingredient, including user-level sales and exports. Volumes are expected to decrease about 1.0-1.5% per year to 2004, while inflation and higher-unit-value products could add a 2-3% rate of growth per year to the dollar value of the industry over this period.
With the greatest sales volume and total sales values, the herbicides sector is the leader in U.S. pesticide sales. Because planted crops and treated acres have not grown substantially in the last few years, retail price competition continues at a high level. The introduction of herbicide-tolerant crops has resulted in a significant change in the mix of herbicide products used by farmers. This has pressured margins at all levels in the distribution chain as manufacturers are pursuing market share strategies more strongly in the contracted major markets.
Exports are a major factor in the market for U.S.-produced pesticides, with the 1999 volume reaching an estimated 310 thousand metric tons of active ingredient. Non-U.S. markets currently represent about 30% of total U.S. pesticide production. Imports in 1999 amounted to 82 thousand metric tons of active ingredient.
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