Japanese pesticide value boosted by higher price in 2009

Survey results reported by Yano Research Institute indicate that Japan’s shipment of pesticide formulations was worth some 346 bn yen ($3.8 bn) in the 2009 fiscal year from April 2009 through March 2010, a slight 0.7% higher than in the previous year and up for the second consecutive year.

The upward drift was chiefly attributed to product price markups pushed through in December 2008. Exports tumbled on a contraction in demand triggered by the strengthening of the yen in recent years.

The value of pesticides for tillable land was put at 273.0 bn yen or more than 80% of the total.

According to the report’s analysis, domestic demand, which had been shrinking, burdened by consumer preference for crops cultivated with less chemical use and by reduced rice acreage, appears to have hit bottom, thanks to incentives introduced by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and an easing in the government’s control over the entries of business into agriculture, leading to more farming activity. Price hikes for pesticides also helped.

The value of non-cropland pesticides was put at 24.1 bn yen. These are mostly herbicide used at golf courses, which are bearing the brunt of a longstanding sluggishness in the domestic golf-club business that is prompting a shift to lower-priced chemicals.

The value of horticultural pesticides was put at 17.5 bn yen. Demand is expected to remain stable, supported by booms in gardening and kitchen gardens, but competition in this area is forecast to intensify and business conditions to toughen.