The 2010 Biopesticides Markets In Asia, Australasia And Russia (Volume 4 of a 6 Volume Series)

The Asian and Australasian market for microbial- and nematode-based pesticides is estimated to be worth approximately $132.5 million per annum at user-level in 2007/8. Allowing for some distortion of the figures, this represents an overall increase from 2004/5 of 35.7%.

The proportion of the market taken by Bacillus thuringiensis-based products was estimated to be 55.3%. The remainder of the market comprises other bacteria (including Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas fluorescens, various Bacillus spp. for plant disease control and a Salmonella-based rat poison), a number of fungal-based products (especially Trichoderma, Beauveria and Metarhizium products) and entomopathogenic viruses (notably Helicoverpa armigera NPV and Spodoptera litura NPV).

China is the largest biopesticide market in the region, followed by India and Japan. All the major markets in the region are characterised by the fact that there are few if any biopesticide imports. The majority of the products available for use in these countries have been researched, developed and manufactured locally albeit, often, with advice and assistance from NGOs or government. This has been particularly the case for fungal-based biopesticides and for entomopathogenic viruses. China, Russia, Belarus and to a lesser extent India and Thailand, have also become significant producers of Bt products.

There is no doubt that there is a huge potential for the development and use of microbial biopesticides in Asia and Australasia. However, there are a number of critical barriers to product introduction in the region. These include an ability to pay, availability of cheap chemicals, the policy of many of the governments to support local production and the need for often difficult and long-term product support.

Although the development of the biopesticide market will be difficult and possibly slow, the potential remains high and opportunities exist which could raise the total market to $225 million by 2015.

This volume also includes a company index of 294 companies.