Chemical

93% of the pesticides used globally are generics, claims CCFI

In 2010, there were 10 new active ingredients commercially launched

Crop Federation of India (CCFI) has compiled a data stating that the share of generic pesticides has now reached an all-time high of 93% in the world market and, the share of patented pesticide is a mere 7%. The main reason for the poor share is that many new launches (new chemistries) fail to take off.

Total agrochemical market $75.5 bn. (2022)

Sale of generics: $70.2 bn.

Sale of patented: $5.3 bn.

Data Source: Agribusiness by S&P Global (Accessed on 3rd July 2024)

In 2010, there were 10 new active ingredients commercially launched. 12 years later (in 2022), their total sale was only US$ 486 mn out of the total market of US$ 75 bn Similar trend is seen for other new active ingredients too.

It is a proven fact that farmers have been using conventional pesticides for years on all crops of economic importance for control of pests and diseases. However with the shortage of labour the herbicide segment has also grown with use on cotton, paddy, wheat, soyabeen etc bringing comfort in farming operations.

Rank	Active Ingredient	Sales ($ mn)	Remark
1	Glyphosate	7,898	Generic Herbicide
2	Chlorantraniliprole	1,933	Generic Insecticide
3	Glufosinate	1,533	Generic Herbicide
4	Atrazine	1,414	Generic Herbicide
5	Azoxystrobin	1,404	Generic Fungicide
6	Thiamethoxam	1,161	Generic Insecticide
7	Prothioconazole	1,151	Generic Fungicide
8	Metolachlor	1,099	Generic Herbicide
9	Pyraclostrobin	1,002	Generic Fungicide
10	2,4-D	984	Generic Herbicide
11	Imidacloprid	959	Generic Insecticide
12	Mancozeb	955	Generic Fungicide
13	Paraquat	895	Generic Herbicide
14	Tebuconazole	874	Generic Fungicide
15	Dicamba	849	Generic Herbicide
16	Acetochlor	811	Generic Herbicide
17	Lambda-Cyhalothrin	736	Generic Insecticide
18	Trifloxystrobin	687	Generic Fungicide
19	Abamectin	682	Generic Fungicide
20	Acephate	667	Generic Insecticide

Source: Agribusiness by S&P Global (Accessed on 3rd July2024)

On analyzing further it is observed that among the 20 active ingredients, Generic herbicides constitute 55% in terms of sales value followed by generic fungicides with a share of 24%, and lastly insecticides at 21% hold the least sales value.

“We have shared our detailed figures with Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, IAS Additional Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture to highlight the importance of generic pesticides not only in India but globally.

The key takeaways are that generic rules the roost in the global pesticides market and

many of the newly launched active ingredients (patented) struggle to establish in the marketplace,” said Deepak Shah, Chairman, CCFI.

Explaining further, Shah said “Generic pesticides have great economic importance in India as they result in significant cost reduction and therefore, most valuable for small and marginal farmers. They are export intensive and fetch valuable foreign exchange (trade surplus) as well.”