Bio Grows
16 December 2008 According to analysts and industry experts, the future remains bright for biopesticides and biocontrol products. Driven by residue management, IPM practices, worker safety concerns, and resistance management (as well as the premiums offered for organic crops), biocontrols have grown steadily over the past several years, and according to market researchers Business Communications Co. (BCC), could reach upwards of US $1.1 billion by 2010.
The scenario is favorable for biopesticides to make greater strides and capture more market share. With a slowdown in the discovery of conventional products and greater attention being paid to chemical toxicity, biopesticides offer environmentally friendly tools that are brought to market more easily than their conventional counterparts.
According to Julie Versman, vice president of marketing for US-based Marrone Organic Innovations in a presentation delivered at the China Agro Chem (CAC) Seminars in Shanghai, China in March, synthetic chemicals can take around US $200 million and 10 years to develop. Biopesticides, as they are derived directly from natural substances, require approximately $3 million and three years to bring to market.
In addition, biopesticides can be used without concerns of chemical residues; they help to fight resistance; they can be used in organic production, and they have a much shorter re-entry interval than conventional products, Versman noted: “With biopesticides, you can spray in the morning and be back in the field in the afternoon.”
Versman also pointed to the pharmaceutical industry to highlight the untapped potential for biocontrols. Around 60% of the pharmaceuticals on the market are derived from natural plants and microbes; in pesticides, only 11% have similar derivations.
For crop producers, there is another reason to consider adopting biopesticides: consumer demand. Products marketed as “natural” fetch a higher price, particularly in developed markets, than those grown with agrochemicals. Rightly or wrongly, perception can be reality and the growers who can take advantage of chemical-free production could reap economic rewards.
Planned Expansions
Much of the growth of biopesticides is still expected in the US and Europe, but efforts to expand the markets for such products globally are in full swing.
The Commercialization of Bio-Pesticides (CBP) project points to many opportunities in South East Asian markets, including products for the following targets:
- Rice: Rodents, stem borers (Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines).
- Oil Palm: Rodents, Rhinocerous beetles (Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia).
- Cocoa: Pod borers (Indonesia).
- Coffee and pepper: Nematodes (Vietnam).
- Bananas: Nematodes (Philippines).
- Fruits and Vegetables: Fruit flies, lepidoptera (all South East Asia).
For more information on CBP’s mission, visit its Web site at www.biopesticides-seasia.net.
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