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1998-1999 Pesticide Market Estimates: Usage

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Sections: 3.1-3.3 | 3.4-3.6 | 3.7-3.8 | 3.9-3.10

3.1  World and U.S. Pesticide Amount Used

World pesticide amount used exceeded 5.6 billion pounds in 1998 and 1999 (see Table 3.1). Herbicides accounted for the largest proportion of total usage, followed by other pesticide usage, insecticide usage, and fungicide usage. Total world pesticide amount used was up slightly in 1999, due mainly to an increase in the use of other pesticides.

U.S. pesticide amount used in 1998 and 1999 exceeded 1.2 billion pounds, in proportions similar to that for world pesticide usage, with a larger proportion of total U.S. pesticide usage on herbicides and other pesticides (see Figure 3.1). U.S. pesticide amount used accounted for more than 20% of total world pesticide amount used, 26% of world herbicide amount used, less than 10% of world insecticide amount used, and approximately 15% and 30% of world fungicides and other pesticide amount used, respectively. The estimates of world and U.S. pesticide usage rely on estimated pesticide amount used and estimated changes in pesticide amount used by type derived from public and proprietary EPA databases. Subsequent sections provide a more detailed analysis of U.S. pesticide amount used in 1998 and 1999.

Table 3.1
World and U.S. Pounds of Pesticide Active Ingredient (A.I.) at User Level
By Pesticide Type, 1998 and 1999 Estimates
Year World Market U.S. Market U.S. Percent of
World Market
Class Mil lbs
of a.i.		 % Mil lbs
of a.i.		 %
1998
Herbicides (1) 2,148 38% 555 46%
26%
Insecticides 1,427 25% 103 9%
7%
Fungicides 553 10% 86 7%
16%
Other (2) 1,522 27% 462 38%
30%
Total 5,650 100% 1,206 100%
21%
1999
Herbicides (1) 2,040 36% 534 43%
26%
Insecticides 1,417 25% 126 10%
9%
Fungicides 556 10% 79 6%
14%
Other (2) 1,666 29% 505 41%
30%
Total 5,679 100% 1,244 100%
22%

Note: Totals may not add due to rounding. Table does not cover wood preservatives, specialty biocides, and chlorine/hypochlorites.
Source: EPA estimates based on Croplife America annual surveys, USDA/NASS (http://www.usda.gov/nass exit EPA disclaimer), and EPA proprietary data.
(1) "Herbicides" include herbicides and plant growth regulators.
(2) "Other" includes nematicides, fumigants, rodenticides, mulluscicides, aquatic and fish/bird pesticides, other miscellaneous conventional pesticides, plus other chemicals used as pesticides, e.g., sulfur and petroleum.

Figure 3.1
Comparison of World and U.S. Pesticide
Pounds of Active Ingredient at User Level
By Pesticide Type, 1999 Estimates
Bar Chart: Millions of Pounds by Pesticide Type. (This chart depicts the 1999 estimates as presented in Table 3.1)

3.2  U.S. Pesticide Supply: Producer Level

Table 3.2 summarizes the 1998 and 1999 average U.S. distribution of pesticides at the producer level, including amount of production, amount of imports, amount of exports, and amount of supply (total and net). Pesticide amount related to U.S. pesticide production and consumption comprised 1.6 billion pounds of domestic production, 0.7 billion pounds of imports, 0.3 billion pounds of exports, and 1.2 billion pounds of net supply.

Table 3.2
U.S. Pesticide Production, Imports, Exports, and Supply
of Pesticides (1) in Pounds Produced at Producer Level
Category Active Ingredient
(Billions of Pounds)
Average of 1998 and 1999
Production
1.6
Imports
0.3
Total Supply
1.9
Exports
0.7
Net Supply
1.2

Note: Excludes industrial wood preservatives, specialty biocides, and chlorine/hypochlorites.
Source: EPA estimates based on Croplife America annual surveys, USDA Foreign Agricultural Trade of the U.S. (FATUS) databases (http://www.ers.usda.gov/db/fatus/ exit EPA disclaimer), and EPA proprietary data.
(1) Includes conventional and other chemicals used as pesticides, e.g., sulfur and petroleum.

3.3  U.S. Pesticide Amount Used: Total

Total pesticide amount used in the U.S. approximated five billion pounds in 1998 and 1999 (see Table 3.3). This estimate included the conventional, other, wood preservatives, specialty biocides, and chlorine/hypochlorites pesticide groups. At more than 2.5 billion pounds used, usage of chlorine/hypochlorites exceeded all other pesticide groups combined (see Figure 3.2). The estimates of usage by group rely on the estimated amount used and changes in estimated amount used by pesticide group derived from public and proprietary EPA databases. A discussion of the amount used of each pesticide group in 1998 and 1999 appears in subsequent sections (see footnotes to Table 3.3 for location).

Table 3.3
Amount of U.S. Pesticide Usage
By Pesticide Group, 1998 and 1999 Estimates
Pesticide Group Total (Mil lbs)
  1998 1999
Conventional Pesticides (1) 912 912
Other Pesticides (2) 294 332
Specialty Biocides (3) 309 343
Chlorine/Hypochlorites (4) 2,532 2,609
Wood Preservatives (5) 820 801
Total 4,867 4,997

1. See Table 3.4 (conventional pesticides) for additional details and specific source information.
2. See Table 3.9 (other pesticides) for additional details and specific source information.
3. See Table 3.10a (specialty biocides) for additional details and specific source information.
4. See Table 3.10b (chlorine/hypochlorites) for additional details and specific source information.
5. Source: American Wood Preservatives Institute (AWPI) and EPA proprietary data. "Wood Preservatives" include creosote, pentachlorophenol, and chromated copper arsenate (CCA).

Figure 3.2
Amount of U.S. Pesticide Usage
By Pesticide Group, 1999 Estimates
Pie Chart depiciting each pesticide group's percentage of total US usage: Chlorine/Hypochlorites, 52%; Conventional Pesticides, 18%; Wood Preservatives, 16%; Commodity Pesticides, 7%; Specialty Biocides, 7%.
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