Agri-environmental indicator on the consumption of pesticides in the EU

In 2006, a communication of the European Commission to the Council and Parliament (52006DC0508) set up certain agri-environmental indicators (AEI) to monitor the integration of environmental concerns into the Common agricultural policy (CAP). One of these indicators is the consumption of pesticides in the EU.

Last May 2024, the Eurostat published the most recent data related to the consumption of pesticides in EU which covers the period 2021-2022. The main findings of this analysis are:

• France, Spain, Germany and Italy recorded the highest volumes of pesticides sold in most major groups. These countries are also the main agricultural producers in the EU (52 % of the total EU utilized agricultural area and 49 % of the total EU arable land).
• The sales of pesticides in the EU decreased 10% compared with sales in 2021.
• The group 'fungicides and bactericides' represent for 43 % of total sales in 2022, being the most sold group of pesticides.
• Inorganic fungicides accounted for 64.4 % of the 'fungicides and bactericides' sold in the EU. These inorganic fungicides refer to copper compounds, inorganic sulphur and other inorganic fungicides, many of which are permitted in organic farming.
• 'Organophosphorus herbicides' (including glyphosate) represented 32.1 % of sales of the substance group 'herbicides, haulm destructors and moss killers' in 2022.

More than 93 % of sales in the substance group 'insecticides and acaricides' in 2022 were from the category of products 'other insecticides', which includes products such as pyridylmethylamine insecticides, insecticides produced by fermentation and the straight chain lepidopteran pheromones.