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Spanish agchem sales up 6% in 2007

Date:05-13-2008

The Spanish agrochemical market grew by 5.5% in 2007 to €575.2 million ($895.6 million at current exchange rates), according to the Spanish agrochemical association, the AEPLA. Volume sales rose by just 1.1% to 94,741.9 tonnes. Herbicides remained the largest segment, but the largest increases among the major segments came from fungicides followed by insecticides.
The herbicide market grew by 2.2% to just over €200 million. Demand for products for use on crops such as rice and maize drove the growth. Expectations of good prices and the availability of water for those crops boosted sales.
Sales of fungicides rose by 11.3% and for insecticides by 9.1%. Fungicide products for use on grapevines drove growth in the segment. The rise in sales for insecticides had a lot to do with the increasing awareness of the use of illegal pesticides, the AEPLA says. Several EU countries reported the presence of the illegal insecticide, isofenphos-methyl, in peppers from the Spanish region of Almeria last year. An ensuing crisis of confidence among Spanish farmers and the pesticide industry led to a high-profile awareness programme from the industry.
Spanish agrochemical sales by value (€ 000)
Category
20061 ($)
% change
2007 ($)
Herbicides
195,721.9 (303,539.3)
+2.2
200,027.8 (311,431.3)
Fungicides
130,061.0 (202,497.2)
+11.3
144,757.9 (225,379.4)
Insecticides
130,502.9 (203,185.2)
+ 9.1
142,378.7 (221,675.1)
Plant growth regulators
43,383.8 (67,546.0)
- 3.5
41,865.4 (65,181.9)
Nematicides
24,766.5 (24,766.5)
- 4.3
23,701.5 (36,901.8)
Acaricides
10,886.2 (16,949.2)
- 1.4
10,733.8 (16,711.9)
Molluscicides & rodenticides
5,616.3 (8,744.2)
+29.5
7,273.1 (11,323.8)
Others
3,963.8 (6,171.4)
+12.4
4,455.3 (6.936.6)
Total2
545,207.1 (848,854.8)
+ 5.5
575,193.5 (895,541.8)
1 calculated from percentages; 2 figures may not add up due to rounding. Source: AEPLA.
 
Spanish agrochemical sales volume (tonnes)
Category
2006
% change
2007
Herbicides
27,829.0
+ 5.6
29,387.4
Fungicides
24,422.8
- 4.2
23,397.0
Insecticides
16,942.5
- 2.5
16,518.9
Plant growth regulators
8,459.9
- 0.1
8,451.4
Nematicides
10,399.5
- 1.7
10,222.7
Acaricides
531.7
-25.5
396.1
Molluscicides & rodenticides
3,326.7
+34.3
4,467.7
Others
1,834.7
+ 3.6
1,900.8
Total1
93,711.1
+ 1.1
94,741.9
1 figures may not add up due to rounding. Source: AEPLA.
The rise follows the 2006 growth of 2.6%, continuing “somewhat of a recovery” from 2005, the AEPLA says. The market lost an eighth of its size in 2005, following changes to the EU common agricultural policy, higher production costs and falling fungicide prices.
Almost a third of sales came in the Andalusia region, where sales were up by about 16%. Sales in the region of Valencia also rose strongly (+11.7%).
The herbicide market has switched this year towards dry winter cereals, due to good commodity prices and the reduction in fallow land. Other crops, such as citrus fruit, continue to suffer from “structural problems”, the AEPLA says. Stagnant prices are impacting on tomatoes, it adds.
 
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