Counterfeit pesticides cost €1.3bn per year in the EU, says report

Every year €1.3 billion ($1.4 billion) is lost across the EU because of fake pesticides, according to a study published by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).

This adds up to a loss of 13.8% of legitimate revenues each year, causing the loss of 2,600 jobs across the EU pesticides industry.

The study, called “The Economic Cost of IPR Infringement in the Pesticides sector”, was published yesterday, February 8, and highlighted the economic loss across EU member states.

Germany, the largest producer of pesticides in the EU, is hardest hit by counterfeiting—€299 million in losses each year, with 500 jobs lost.

France, the second largest producer, suffers €240 million of losses per year, with 500 jobs lost.

The study also found a link between the counterfeiting of pesticides and employment rates in the sector.

It said: “Since the legitimate industry sells less than it would have sold in the absence of counterfeiting, it also employs fewer workers.”

In addition to the direct loss of sales in the pesticides industry, the study concluded that there are impacts on other sectors of the EU economy.

“When the knock-on effects of counterfeit pesticides in the marketplace are taken into account, 11,700 jobs are lost in the EU economy,” said a press release from the EUIPO.

The EUIPO said that the study provided “a complete and objective picture of the impact of counterfeit goods in Europe, in order to help policymakers develop effective enforcement policies”.