EPA releases estimates of U.S. pesticide use

Date:02-28-2011

EPA's report, Pesticides Industry Sales and Usage: 2006 and 2007 Market Estimates, is now available at http://www.epa.gov/opp00001/pestsales/.

This report contains the latest estimates of agricultural and nonagricultural pesticide use in the United States. It illustrates graphically historical trends and levels of use over the last 20 years. Also included are data on imports, exports, and pesticide producers and users. The report contains statistics on pesticide sales and usage based on available information taken from Agency records of registrations, USDA surveys of pesticide use, and other public and proprietary sources.

Highlights include:

• In the United States, pesticide sales were approximately $12.5 billion at the user level, which accounted for 32 percent of the nearly $40 billion world market in 2007. Pesticide use in the United States was 1.1 billion pounds in 2007, or 22 percent of the world estimate of 5.2 billion pounds of pesticide use.

• Total pounds of U.S. pesticide use decreased by approximately 8 percent from 1.2 to 1.1 billion pounds from 2000 to 2007.

• Use of conventional pesticides decreased about 3 percent from 2002 to 2007 and 11 percent from 1997 to 2007.

• Approximately 857 million pounds of conventional pesticide active ingredient were applied in 2007.

• Organophosphate insecticide use decreased about 44 percent from 2002 to 2007, 63 percent from 2000 to 2007, and 55 percent from 1997 to 2007.

• About 33 million pounds of organophosphate insecticides were applied in 2007.

• Eighty percent of all U.S. pesticide use was in agriculture.

• Herbicides remained the most widely used type of pesticide in the agricultural market sector.

• Among the top 10 pesticides used in terms of pounds applied in the agricultural market were the herbicides glyphosate, atrazine, metolachlor-s, Acetochlor, 2,4-D, and pendimethalin, and the fumigants metam sodium, dichloropropene, methyl bromide, and chloropicrin.

• Herbicides were also the most widely used type of pesticide in the home and garden and industrial, commercial, and governmental market sectors, and the herbicides 2,4-D and glyphosate were the most widely used active ingredients.

The last report on pesticides industry sales and usage was published in 2001. Previous reports are also available at http://www.epa.gov/opp00001/pestsales/.