Canadian pesticide sales volumes up 0.4% in 2015

Of the remaining 2991 products reported as sold, the overall pesticide sales in Canada in 2015 were 101 445 964 kg a.i., which is a 0.4% increase from the 101,080,417 kg a.i. sold in 2014 (Figure 1), according to ‘Pest Control Products Sales Report for 2015’ published recently by the Canadian Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA). There is a general increasing trend in pesticide sales between 2011-2015. A larger increase was seen in 2013 which cannot be attributed to any one area of focus.  

In 2015, the 50 products with the greatest sales accounted for 67.1% of the total kg a.i. sold in Canada (68,071,970 kg a.i.). This was an increase in the overall quantity and relative amount from 2014, where the top 50 products accounted for 58.3% of total sales (58,952,342 kg a.i). The top 10 active ingredients sold, presented in decreasing order in Table 1, made up 66.5% of total sales (67,418,885 kg a.i). A comprehensive list with the rankings for all active ingredients sold in Canada in 2015 is provided in Appendix I. Seven active ingredients have remained on the top 10 list over the past five years (since 2011): glyphosate, available chlorine, present as sodium hypochlorite (appears as sodium hypochlorite in previous reports), 2,4-D, MCPA, surfactant blend, glufosinate ammonium, and mineral oil. 

 

All products were grouped according to their areas of use into three sectors: Agricultural, Non-Agricultural, and Domestic. (Data from each of the sectors are discussed in more detail in the following sections.) 

 

The groups were designed so there would be no overlap between the groupings. A product was placed into the Domestic sector if its classification was Domestic on its label. For the Non-domestic products, a product with any agricultural use on the label was grouped with the Agricultural sector, even if there were non-agricultural uses listed on the label. All remaining products were grouped as Non-agricultural. In some cases, if upon analysis, it was determined a product in the Agricultural sector had its main usage in the Non-agricultural sector, the product was moved to the Non-agricultural sector group. 

 

Agricultural sector products have constituted the largest amount of pesticides sold in Canada since data was collected, followed by Non-agricultural sector products and Domestic sector products. In 2015, 73% of pesticide sales in Canada were of Agricultural sector products (see Figure 2), whereas 23.2% were of Non-agricultural sector products and 3.7% were of Domestic sector products. The relative sales of products in the Agricultural sector decreased between 2014 and 2015 (decreasing from just over 74% to 73%), while the Non-agriculture sector increased from 21% to 23%, and the Domestic sector decreased from just under 5% in 2014 to just under 4% in 2015 (see Figure 3 for data for 2011 to 2015).  

 

Within each sector, data were further broken down into product type groupings. These include: herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, antimicrobials, vertebrate controls, and others (for the remaining products). 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 2015, as an over-reporting would occur.

 

 

Products with agricultural uses accounted for 73% of pesticide sales in Canada in 2015. There was a 1.4% decrease in Agricultural sector pesticide sales from 2014 (75,112,223 kg a.i) to 2015 (74,059,293 kg a.i.).  

 

Herbicides accounted for 73.3% of agricultural sector pesticide sales, followed by fungicides (11.5%), insecticides (5.0%), antimicrobials (4.6%), and others (7.3%) (Figure 4). Vertebrate controls (0.04%) accounted for very small quantities of agricultural pesticides sold in 2015 and have been included in the “others” category. 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.

 

The top 10 active ingredients sold with agricultural uses are shown in Table 2 in decreasing order. Seven of the top 10 agricultural active ingredients were herbicides and adjuvants that are used in conjunction with herbicides. These top 10 active ingredients accounted for 73% of the Agricultural sector pesticides sold. Seven active ingredients have remained in the top 10 over the last five years: glyphosate, 2,4-D, MCPA, glufosinate ammonium, mineral oil, surfactant blend, and mancozeb.

 

Commercial products with non-agricultural uses accounted for 23.2% of all pesticides sold in Canada in 2015 (compared to 21.0% in 2014). Non-agricultural sector pesticide sales increased 10.7% from 2014 to 2015 (from 21,257,788 kg a.i. to 23,527,062 kg a.i.). Over the past few years, there has been some fluctuation in Non-agricultural sector sales, with a large decrease in some years (2012) and smaller increases and decreases in other years.

 

Antimicrobials accounted for 96.8% of non-agricultural sector sales followed by herbicides (2.0%), fungicides (0.9%), insecticides (0.6%), and vertebrate control (0.3%). These last three product types were combined in the figure due to the low quantities of pesticides sold. No quantities of “other” products were sold in 2015. 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 (ranging from 86% to 96.8%).

The top 10 active ingredients sold with Non-agricultural sector uses were antimicrobials. These are presented in Table 3 in decreasing order. Two of the active ingredients also had other product types in addition to the antimicrobial type (copper and borates). Non-agricultural sector products are used predominantly in the wood preservation industry and for water treatment. The top 10 active ingredients accounted for 83% of the Non-agricultural sector pesticides sold. Six active ingredients have remained in the top 10 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.

 

The Domestic Class products accounted for 3.7% of overall pesticide sales in Canada for 2015. There was a 19% decrease from 2014 (4,699,185 kg a.i.) to 2015 (3,795,427 kg a.i.) in Domestic sector pesticide sales. This is the lowest amount sold since the start of the sales reporting program. Changes from year to year in the Domestic sector may be dependent on changes in regional regulations (e.g. restrictions at the municipal or provincial level), as well as changes in weather (e.g. hot and sunny summers may result in increased sales of swimming pool and spa products).

 

Antimicrobial products accounted for 73.4% of domestic pesticides sold in Canada (Figure 6) (mainly sales of swimming pool and spa products) followed by insecticides (16.9%), herbicides (6.6%), vertebrate controls (3.0%), fungicides (0.5%), and “other” products (0.07%). These last three product types were combined in Figure 6. 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 three product type groups: antimicrobials, vertebrate control, and insecticides. They are presented in Table 4 in decreasing order. These active ingredients accounted for 81% of the Domestic sector pesticides sold. Of the top 10 products, six are used for swimming pools and spas. Six active ingredients have 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).

 

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 2015, as an over-reporting would occur.

 

 

Herbicides accounted for 54.2% (54,999,360 kg a.i.) of all pesticides sold in Canada in 2015. This is a slight decrease from 2014 when herbicides accounted for 58.4% of all pesticides sold. This translates into a decrease of 7% in the quantities of herbicides sold from 2014 (59,085,239 kg a.i.) to 2015 (54,999,360 kg a.i.).

 

The top 10 herbicides sold in 2015, as listed in Table 5 in decreasing order, accounted for 87.3% of all herbicide sales in Canada and 47.3% of pesticide sales overall. Seven active ingredients have remained in the top 10 over the last five years: glyphosate, glufosinate ammonium, 2,4-D, MCPA, bromoxynil, S-metolachlor and R-enantiomer, and atrazine.

 

Insecticides accounted for 4.5% (4,522,381 kg a.i.) of all pesticides sold in Canada in 2015. Insecticide sales have remained relatively low during the years of reporting, with the highest quantities sold in 2014 (5,138,580 kg a.i.) and the lowest in 2011 (4,112,386 kg a.i.). Many of the insecticides are used in agricultural settings, though the fourth-most sold insecticide (DEET) is used only in the Domestic sector.  

 

The top 10 insecticides sold in 2015, as listed in Table 6 in decreasing order, accounted for 81.4% of all insecticides sales in Canada and 3.6% of pesticide sales overall. Six insecticides have remained in the top 10 during all years of reporting: mineral oil, hydrogen peroxide, chlorpyrifos, DEET, sulphur, and clothianidin.

 

Fungicides accounted for 8.6% (8,768,914 kg a.i.) of all pesticides sold in Canada in 2015. Fungicide sales have remained relatively low throughout the reporting years, with a high in 2014 (9,939,107 kg a.i.) and a low in 2010 (5,784,829 kg a.i.). The vast majority of fungicides are used in the Agricultural sector (73.5%).  

 

The top 10 fungicides sold in Canada in 2015, as listed in Table 7 in decreasing order, accounted for 74.6% of fungicide sales and 6.4% of pesticide sales overall. Six of the active ingredients have remained in the top 10 in the last five years of reporting: chlorothalonil, mancozeb, metam-sodium, prothioconazole, chloropicrin, and sulphur.

 

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 2015, there were 168 active ingredients identified as biopesticides, which accounted for 928 registered products.  

 

The 370 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 above (for example, herbicides, insecticides, etc.). 

 

The 313 products that could be converted to kg a.i. accounted for 5.4% of total pesticide sales (5,504,154 kg a.i.) in 2015. There was an 11% decrease in biopesticide sales from 2014 (6,194,830 kg a.i.) to 2015. The sales of biopesticides have fluctuated in the years in which data have been collected. Insecticides accounted for 56% of the biopesticide sales in 2015 (Figure 7), followed by fungicides (24.6%), herbicides (12.1%), “others” (9.3%), antimicrobials (3.7%), and vertebrate controls (3.0%).

The top 10 biopesticide active ingredients sold in Canada are listed in Table 8 in decreasing order. The top 10 active ingredients accounted for 60.7% of sales of biopesticides that could be converted to kg a.i. and 3.3% of pesticide sales overall. Six of the 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.