Demand from Western Europe and North America Fuels the Australian Biopesticides Market
Industrial (white) biotechnology is on the rise, with global sales of chemicals derived from industrial biotechnology estimated at €125 billion, or roughly 10 per cent of global chemical revenues. The largest segments of the market are speciality chemicals, biofuels and food and feed ingredients, however, agro-chemicals, and particularly biopesticides, are growing rapidly, especially in Australia.
Biopesticides are becoming increasingly mainstream in Australia, where total pesticide sales exceed $1 billion annually. “Although biopesticides constitute a relatively small portion of this market, their use has been steadily rising, to reach about $30 million in sales in 2009,” says Frost & Sullivan’s Chemicals Industry Analyst, Sarah Wang, in a new Market Insight entitled: Frost & Sullivan: Biopesticides: Into the Mainstream. “Further growth is expected as Maximum Residual Limits (MRLs) become more stringent, regulations for chemical residues more targeted, and government Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programmes more prevalent.”
Moreover, most of Autralia’s agricultural output is exported to Western Europe and North America, which are strengthening their requirements on chemical residuals in food and demanding chemical-free fresh foods. In addition, growing consumer awareness of “green foods” is compelling farmers to abandon conventional chemical pesticides.
Highly dependent on government enforcement and customer demand for chemical-free products, biopesticides still account for a relatively small portion of the total pesticides market in the region. This can be attributed mainly to relatively slack regulatory requirements compared to those in Western Europe. “However, in line with other segments of the chemicals industry, we can expect to see biologically-derived products gain increasing share as governmental and consumer pressures combine to stimulate take-up,” concludes Wang.
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