Japanese agrochemical’s value up 16% in August

The Japan crop protection Association reported that the value of the country’s shipments of agrochemical in August was 15.4 bn yen ($191.6 mn), up 15.9% year on year, chiefly driven by increased shipments of pesticides for the cultivation of rice and vegetables. The shipment volume was 11,250 tons, up 1.7%.

The cumulative shipment for the period of October 2009 to August this year was 184,086 tons, down 4.8%, while the cumulative shipment value was 316,908 mn yen, down a nominal 0.3%, which is a 0.7-point rise from the cumulative shipment value for the period of October 2009 to July this year. The cumulative shipment value up to August for paddy pesticides was up 3.7%.

For the full pesticide year of October 2009 to September this year, the shipment value will probably exceed that of the previous year because of the continued hot weather in September, which led to increased pest outbreaks across the country.

By product categories, August shipment values were 7,406 mn yen for pesticides, up 34.7% year on year; 4,086 mn yen for fungicides, up 12.4%; 1,239mn yen for insecticides/fungicides, up 5.9%; and 2,230 mn yen for herbicides, down 10.5%. By cultivation segments, August shipment values were 3,369 mn yen for paddy, up 13.0%; 2,175mn yen for fruit trees, up 11.5%; 7,802 mn yen for vegetables and upland farms, up 28.4%; and 1,618 mn yen for others, down 9.5%.