In 2023, approximately 292,000 tons of pesticides were sold in the EU, the lowest level since the start of the data series in 2011. This marked a 9% decline compared to 2022 and an 18% drop compared to 2021.
In terms of the types of pesticides sold in the EU, the main categories in 2023 were 'fungicides and bactericides' (39% of sales volumes), 'herbicides, haulm destructors, and moss killers' (36%), and 'insecticides and acaricides' (17%).
This information comes from data on pesticide sales published by Eurostat recently. This article presents a handful of findings from the more detailed Statistics Explained article on the agri-environmental indicator: consumption of pesticides.
© EuroStat
In 2023, France (23%), Spain (18%), and Germany and Italy (each with 14%) accounted for the highest shares of pesticide sales volumes in the EU. These four countries are also the EU's largest agricultural producers.
Between 2011 and 2023, there were stark contrasts in the development of pesticide sales within the EU. For the 21 countries for which data are available, there were lower sales volumes in 16 EU countries, with the sharpest declines observed in Portugal and Italy (each down 44%), followed by Ireland and Slovenia (each down 38%). By contrast, there were higher sales volumes in 5 EU countries, with the sharpest increases observed in Latvia (up 55%), Austria (up 52%), and Lithuania (up 11%).
Source: EuroStat
