Canadian pesticide sales volumes down 7% in 2014

According to ‘Pest Control Products Sales Report for 2014’ published recently by the Canadian Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA),pesticide sales in Canada in 2014 were 101, 080.4 tons (active ingredient calculations), which is a 7% decrease from the 109, 070. 9 tons sold in 2013 (Figure 1). However, the general trend is for an increase in pesticide sales between 2010-2014.

 
In the analysis of the overall quantity for 2014, it should be noted that the sum of the top 50 products from the total number of products for which sales reports were submitted made up 58.3% of the total kg a.i. sold in Canada in 2014 (58 ,952. 3 tons). This was a decrease in the overall quantity and relative amount from 2013, where the top 50 products sold 74, 154. 3 tons (68% of overall). The top 10 active ingredients sold made up 66, 834. 3 tons or 66.1% of the total. Six active ingredients have remained on the top 10 list over the past five years (since 2010): glyphosate, available chlorine, present as sodium hypochlorite (appears as sodium hypochlorite in previous reports), 2,4-D, MCPA, surfactant blend, and mineral oil.

Sales Information by Sector

All products were grouped according to their areas of use into three sectors: Agricultural, Non-Agricultural, and Domestic.


Agricultural Sector

Products with agricultural uses accounted for the largest amount of pesticide sales in Canada in 2014 at 74.3%. There was a 7% decrease in Agricultural sector pesticide sales from 80, 612.1 tons in 2013 to 75, 112. 2 tons in 2014. While absolute quantities decreased in the Agricultural sector, when compared to decreases in Non-agricultural and Domestic sector sales, relative Agricultural sector sales remained relatively consistent (73.9% in 2013).

Of the quantity of pesticides sold having Agricultural sector uses, herbicides accounted for 77.8% of the pesticide sales, followed by fungicides at 12.4% and insecticides at 4.6%. Antimicrobials (1.5%) and vertebrate control (0.04%) accounted for very small quantities of agricultural pesticides sold in 2014 and have been included in the “others” category to account for 6.8% of agricultural sales. Within the Agricultural sector, sales by product type have been consistent, with only small changes seen in the percentage of sales in each type throughout the years reported.

Non-Agricultural Sector

Commercial products with non-agricultural uses accounted for the second-largest amount of all pesticides sold in Canada in 2014 at 21.0% (compared to 20.2% in 2013). Non-agricultural sector pesticide sales decreased 3.6% from 2013 to 2014 (from 22, 050. 3 tons to 21, 257. 8 tons). Over the past few years, there has been some fluctuation in Non-agricultural sector sales, with a big drop in some years (2012) and smaller increases and decreases in other years.

Of the total pesticides sold with Non-agricultural sector uses, antimicrobials accounted for 96.3%, followed by herbicides with 2.3%. Fungicides (1.4%), insecticides (0.6%), vertebrate control (0.2%) and other product types (0.003%) were combined due to the low quantities of pesticides sold. Fluctuations within the product type groupings have been evident since the start of pesticide sales reporting. However, antimicrobials consistently account for the majority of Non-agricultural sector pesticide sales (with a low of 86% to a high of 96.3%).

The top 10 active ingredients sold with Non-agricultural sector uses were antimicrobials. One of the active ingredients also had other product types in addition to the antimicrobial type (copper). Non-agricultural sector products would be used predominantly in the wood preservation industry and for water treatment. The top 10 active ingredients accounted for 81% of the Non-agricultural sector pesticides sold. Six active ingredients have remained on the top 10 list for Non-agricultural sector pesticides over the last five years: available chlorine, present as sodium hypochlorite (appears as sodium hypochlorite in previous reports), chromic acid, glutaraldehyde, arsenic pentoxide, copper as elemental, and sodium bromide.

Domestic Sector

The Domestic Class products accounted for 4.6% of overall pesticide sales in Canada for 2014. There was a 27% decrease from 2013 (6, 408. 5 tons) to 2014 (4, 699. 2 tons) in Domestic sector pesticide sales. This decreased total is within amounts that have been seen in previous years of reporting.

Antimicrobial products accounted for 56.6% of domestic pesticides sold in Canada ,mainly due to the sales of swimming pool and spa products. This was a decrease from amounts sold in 2013 (from 3, 249. 2 tons to 2, 661. 7 tons). Insecticides accounted for 33.6% of the Domestic sector sales (a marked increase from 12% in 2013). Fungicides and vertebrate controls accounted for 6.7% and 5.9% of Domestic sector sales, respectively. Herbicides accounted for 3.7% of the Domestic sector sales and were combined with “other “products (0.06%). The Domestic sector has seen fluctuation from year to year in the product-type groupings.

The top 10 active ingredients sold for use in the Domestic sector are from four product type groups: antimicrobials, fungicides, vertebrate control, and insecticides. Of the top 10 products, five are used for swimming pools and spas, and accounted for 62% of the amount sold of the top 10 Domestic sector list. The top 10 active  ingredients accounted for 80% of the Domestic sector pesticides sold. Six actives remained in the top 10 over the last five years: available chlorine, present as calcium hypochlorite (as calcium hypochlorite in previous reports), available chlorine, present as trichloro-s-triazinetrione (as trichloro-s-triazinetrione in previous reports), n-alkyl (40% C12, 50% C14, 10% C16) dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride, Poly[oxyethylene(dimethyliminio)ethylene(dimethyliminio) ethylene dichloride], DEET, and available bromine present as 1-bromo-3-chloro-5,5-dimethylhydantoin and related hydantoins (as halobrom in previous reports).

Sales Information by Product Type

In the following sections, all pesticides are discussed according to their product type (including herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, antimicrobials, vertebrate controls, and other product types). As previously discussed, a product may have a number of different uses on the label. As the sales reporting does not collect data on the relative amount of a product used for a specific label use, the data may not necessarily be separated into only one product type. This means that there may be overlap between the product type groupings and these numbers should not be summed to obtain total quantities sold in Canada in 2014, as an over-reporting would occur.


Herbicides

Herbicides accounted for 58.4% (59, 085. 2 tons) of all pesticides sold in Canada in 2014. This is a slight decrease in proportional representation from 2013 when herbicides accounted for 60.1% of all pesticides sold. There was an overall decrease of 10% in the quantities of herbicides sold from 2013 (65, 569. 9 tons) to 2014 (59, 085. 2 tons) and a return to quantities seen in 2012.

The top 10 herbicides sold in 2014, as listed in Table 5 in decreasing order, accounted for 89.3% of all herbicide sales in Canada and 52.2% of pesticide sales overall. Six of the top 10 active ingredients have remained in the top 10 over the last five years: glyphosate, 2,4-D, MCPA, bromoxynil, S-metolachlor and R-enantiomer, and atrazine.

Insecticides

Insecticides accounted for 5.1% (5, 138. 6 tons) of all pesticides sold in Canada in 2014. Insecticide sales have remained relatively low during the years of reporting, with the highest quantities sold in 2014 and the lowest in 2010 (3, 796. 7 tons). Many of the insecticides are used in agricultural settings, though the sixth-most sold insecticide (DEET) is used only in the Domestic sector.

The top 10 insecticides sold in 2014, as listed in Table 6 in decreasing order, accounted for 80.8% of all insecticides sales in Canada and 4.1% of pesticide sales overall. Six of the top 10 insecticides have remained on the top 10 list during all years of reporting: mineral oil, hydrogen peroxide, chlorpyrifos, DEET, sulphur, and clothianidin.

Fungicides

Fungicides accounted for 9.8% (9, 939. 1 tons) of all pesticides sold in Canada in 2014. Fungicide sales have remained relatively low throughout the reporting years, with a high in 2014 and a low in 2010 (5, 784. 8 tons). The vast majority of fungicides are used in the Agricultural sector (94%).

The top 10 fungicides sold in Canada in 2014, as listed in Table 7 in decreasing order, accounted for 68.2% of fungicide sales and 6.7% of pesticide sales overall. Six of the top 10 active ingredients have remained consistent in the last five years of reporting: chlorothalonil, mancozeb, metam-sodium, prothioconazole, chloropicrin, and sulphur.

Antimicrobials

Antimicrobials accounted for 24.0% (24, 234.4 tons) of all pesticides sold in Canada in 2014. While most of the antimicrobial active ingredients are used in the Non-agricultural sector, there are a number where the majority of the active ingredient is sold in the Domestic sector. This is true of some of the active ingredients containing available chlorine and available bromine. The high volumes are due to large quantities used in swimming pools and spas, which are mostly for Domestic use.

The top 10 antimicrobial active ingredients sold in 2014, as listed in Table 8 in decreasing order, accounted for 79.6% of all antimicrobial sales in Canada and 19.1% of pesticide sales overall. Seven of the top 10 active ingredients have remained consistent in the last five years of reporting: available chlorine, present as sodium hypochlorite, as calcium hypochlorite, and as trichloro-s-triazinetrione (appearing as sodium hypochlorite, calcium hypochlorite, and trichloro-s- triazinetrione, respectively, in previous reports), available bromine present as 1-bromo-3-chloro-5,5-dimethylhydantoin and related hydantoins (appears as halobrom in previous reports), chromic acid, glutaraldehyde, and copper as elemental.

Vertebrate Control

Vertebrate controls accounted for 0.3% (347 .1 tons) of all pesticides sold in Canada in 2014. Since sales data have been collected in Canada, products for vertebrate control have always accounted for a very small and consistent amount of overall pesticide sales. The top 10 vertebrate controls, accounted for 99.2% of all vertebrate control sales in 2014 and 0.3% of pesticide sales overall. Four of the top 10 active ingredients have remained consistent in the last five years: carbon dioxide gas, cellulose (from powdered corn cobbs), dried blood, and zinc phosphide.

Others

Products fall into the “Others” type when they include uses that are not classified in any of the groups above and include adjuvants, nematicides, and molluscicides. These “other” products accounted for 4.0% (4, 013 tons) of pesticide sales in Canada in 2014. Sales in this category have fluctuated slightly over the years of reporting, but have remained fairly low, with a high in 2013 (4, 122. 3 tons) and a low in 2008 (2, 033. 7 tons). The majority of the label uses of these other active ingredients are in the Agricultural sector (99.6%).

The top 10 active ingredients sold in Canada in 2014 that fall into this type accounted for 99.5% of “other” type sales and 3.9% of pesticide sales overall. Six of the top 10 active ingredients have remained consistent in the last five years of reporting: surfactant blend, mineral oil, nonylphenoxypolyethoxyethanol, paraffin based petroleum oil, octylphenoxypolyethoxyethanol, and polyoxyalkylated alkyl phosphate ester.

Biopesticides

Biopesticides include microbial pesticides (contain a bacterium, fungus, virus, protozoan, or alga as the active ingredient), pheromones and other semiochemical pesticides, and other non-conventional (formerly biochemical) pesticides.

In 2014, there were 163 active ingredients identified as biopesticides, which accounted for 894 registered products.

The 356 end-use biopesticide products reported as sold have been broken into two groups: 1) those products which could be converted into kg a.i. and 2) microbial products that could not be converted into kg a.i. It is important to note that biopesticide sales are represented in this subsection in addition to being included in each individual product type section (for example, herbicides, insecticides, etc.).

The 302 products that could be converted to kg a.i. accounted for 6 194 830 kg a.i. sold in 2014 which represents 6.1% of pesticide sales overall. There was a 7% increase in biopesticide sales from 2013 (5, 786.7 tons) to 2014. The sales of biopesticides have fluctuated in the years that data have been collected; however, there is an overall increase from 2010 to 2014. Insecticides accounted for 53% of the biopesticide sales in 2014. Herbicides accounted for the next largest portion of biopesticide sales in 2014 at 25.2%, followed by fungicides with 19.4% of sales, and vertebrate control with 5.1%. Antimicrobials accounted for 2.2% of the biopesticides sold in 2014 and the “others” product type accounted for 6.0%.

The top 10 active ingredients accounted for 90.4% of sales of biopesticides that could be converted to kg a.i. and 5.5% of pesticide sales overall. Six of the top 10 active ingredients have remained in the top 10 over the last five years: corn gluten meal, mineral oil, sulphur, N-decanol, hydrogen peroxide, and mono- and dipotassium phosphite.

The remaining 54 products are microbial agents that could not be converted into kg a.i. due to unconventional units of measure.