Spain, France and Italy are on top of pesticides consumption in EU, according to Eurostat data released today, October 15th, 2018. In 2016, France, Germany, Italy and Spain collectively sold over 50 % of the total EU pesticide sales volume. As a result of their potential toxicity, often even at very low levels, the application of pesticides is now strictly controlled by Community legislation since 1991.
In 2009, the Sustainable Use Directive (Directive 2009/128/EC) established a framework to achieve a sustainable use of pesticides by reducing the risks and impacts of pesticide use on human health and the environment and promoting the use of integrated pest management and of alternative approaches or techniques such as non-chemical alternatives to pesticides.
The use of pesticides plays an important role in agricultural production by ensuring less weed and pest damage to crops and a consistent yield. However, their use can have negative environmental impacts on water quality, terrestrial and aquatic biodiversity.
Contamination of the environment from pesticides may result from spray drift, volatilisation, surface run-off, and subsurface loss via leaching/drainflow. The persistence of pesticides in the environment differs greatly and is dependent on factors such as their susceptibility to attack by micro-organisms and enzymes, soil temperature and water content.
Statistics on the sale of pesticides are used as an indicator of pesticide consumption in agriculture. Among the 20 European Union (EU) Member States for which complete data are available, Spain, France, Italy and Germany accounted for a large majority (79 %) of pesticide sales reported in 2016.
These countries are also the main agricultural producers in the EU, collectively accounting for about one half (46 %) of the EU’s total utilised agriculture area and one half (47 %) of its total arable land.
In terms of the categories of pesticides sold, the highest sales volumes in 2016 were for “Fungicides and bactericides”, followed by “Herbicides, haulm destructors and moss killers” and “Insecticides and acaricides”.
The major groups of pesticides which recorded the highest sales volumes both in 2011 and 2016 were “Fungicides and Bactericides”, “Herbicides, haulm destructors and moss killers”, “Insecticides and acaricides” (Table 1). Four EU countries (France, Germany, Italy and Spain) recorded the highest volumes sold in most groups, and together these four countries sold over 50 % of the total volumes reported in the EU. These countries are also the main agricultural producers in the EU, with collectively 46 % of the total EU utilised agriculture area (UAA), and 47 % of the total EU arable land.
In order to assess if the total volume of pesticides sold is changing, the 16 EU countries (Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Hungary, Malta, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and Slovakia), which provided non-confidential data for all major groups in both 2011 and 2016, were analysed (Table 2). The analysis showed that in 2011, these countries recorded sales of 330 562 tonnes of pesticide active substances, and in 2016 they recorded 335 870 tonnes, i.e. a slight increase of 1.6 %.
Pesticide use is partly influenced by economics (the most profitable crops are the ones most economically viable to treat), and partly by local soil and climate conditions which determine the vulnerability of a site to pest infestation. It also depends on the type of farming (conventional or organic).
Data on use of pesticides are also needed for the indicator Pesticide Risk. To calculate true risk indicators, it is necessary to establish toxicity and ecotoxicity levels for each active substance and combine these with relevant data on the quantities used and other information. The way in which pesticides are used (quantities, time and method of application, type of crop, type of soil, etc.) influences their effect on human health and the environment. However, apart from the crop type, statistics on these factors are not yet available.