Report: Pesticides

Pesticides industry expected to rebound from sluggish period

Following several years of declines, the US pesticides industry is expected to recover and register modest growth through 2008. Although a difficult pricing environment and market maturity will substantially limit gains, this will represent a dramatic improvement over the past few years, when pesticide market value dropped off considerably.

Biopesticides poised for continued growth

Biopesticides, led by Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt)-based products, are expected to continue their strong growth. Other products, such as beneficial organisms and pheromones are also expected to become more commercially significant products. However, all major pesticide markets will continue to be dominated by conventional pesticides.

Regulatory actions continue to reshape product mix

Regulatory forces have a more pervasive influence on the pesticides industry than they do in most other segments of the chemical industry. The perpetual effort to replace more environmentally damaging products with more benign alternatives leads to an ever-evolving array of active ingredients. This evolution has led to drastic reductions in the use of some products, such as alachlor, cyanazine and chlorpyrifos; and to the growth of products designated as greduced risk pesticidesh such as glyphosate, upon which the well-known ROUNDUP products are based.

Industry concentration

The US pesticides industry is fairly concentrated, with fewer than 20 significant basic manufacturers of active ingredients. Although the top six producers account for the majority of US demand, other suppliers -- especially producers of generic actives whose patent protection has expired -- occupy important market positions.

Study coverage

Pesticides, a new Freedonia study, presents details these and other key findings. This study provides historical data for 1993, 1998 and 2003, as well as forecasts through 2008 and 2013 in pounds and US dollars by product type and market.

The study also discusses agricultural trends and addresses environmental and regulatory issues. In addition, it assesses market share data and profiles more than 30 industry players.