Global biodefensives market will exceed $4 billion by 2019

 

The global biodefensive market will exceed annual sales of $4 billion by 2019. The projection is made by Nicolás Cock Duque, president of BPG (BioProtection Global), the worldwide federation of biocontrol industry associations, which predicts strong growth of 60% of the sector this year compared to $2.5 billion in 2018.

 

According to him, this optimism stems from the fact that consumers are demanding safer foods, produced with solutions based on low impact and sustainable substances. "Different sources suggest that the global biopesticide market will exceed annual sales of $4 billion by 2019," says Duque.

 

The executive was one of the speakers at Biocontrol Latan 2019, one of the most important meetings of the pesticides industry in the world. The event is organized by New AG International, in partnership with ABCBio - Brazilian Association of Biological Control Companies, and was held between August 28 and 30, in the city of Campinas, estate of São Paulo.

 

On this occasion Duke spoke on the theme: “Challenges of Bioprotection and Contributions to Achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by 2030”. According to him, in order to meet the demand for safe and sustainably produced food for a world population of 9 billion by 2050, it will be necessary to significantly increase the adoption rates of biological pesticides, “especially considering the challenges of climate change and planetary boundaries.”

 

For the speaker, the good global perspectives of the segment also apply to Brazil, which, in his view, plays a decisive role both in the supply of food to the world and in the development of new technologies for vegetable biodefense. “Latin America, along with sub-Saharan Africa, are the regions with the greatest potential for arable land to be used or restored with the help of bioregenerative solutions,” Duque noted.

 

Regarding the interaction between conventional and biological pesticides, the president of BPG says that both are technologies that can live together harmonically. “They are complementary and synergistic solutions for achieving true sustainable agriculture, in order to ensure safe food for everyone on a climate and biologically balanced planet,” he said.

 

As for a worldwide harmonization of regulatory standards in the segment, Duque understands that there is still work in progress. "I believe one of the goals should be the acceptance of biodefense-treated crops in international trade without quantitative restrictions, as well as organic products are mutually recognized through international agreements," he said, adding that tolerance exemption or MRLs does not mean “no waste”, but no waste of toxicological concerns.