U.S. Pesticide Demand to Exceed $8 Billion in 2008

CLEVELAND, Ohio - After several years of fairly substantial market value declines, U.S. demand for pesticide active ingredients is projected to rebound, growing 1.3 percent per year to $8.1 billion in 2008, according to a new study released by The Freedonia Group, Cleveland, Ohio.

Gains will be prompted by modest volume growth in all three market segments - agriculture, commercial and consumer. Moreover, Industry Analyst Mike Richardson expects that the pricing climate, which had been especially difficult in recent years due to patent expirations and overall market maturity will improve slightly. Growth will also be boosted by rising use of biopesticides and reduced risk conventional pesticides.

Biopesticides are expected to register the fastest growth of any product type due to new biopesticide active ingredient introductions, Richardson says. "Gains will be based on the market penetration of new products, and supported by growing user acceptance of alternatives to traditional pesticide products, coupled with efforts to reduce the use of organophosphate insecticides," he predicts.

Herbicides will remain the dominant product type, accounting for about 60 percent of the market in both volume and value terms, according to the study. However, projected growth for herbicides will be only 1 percent per year, due in part to pricing constraints for the off-patent products that lead the market.

Insecticides and fungicides are expected to register comparable growth, although insecticide volume in the large agricultural market is expected to decline. Among insecticides, the best growth prospects will be for products that can replace organophosphates.

Pesticides is available from The Freedonia Group. For more information, call 440/684-9600 or visit www.freedoniagroup.com.