The use of plant protection products in the European Union – data 1992-2003. 2007 edition

There is an increasing demand, not only within the European Community, for meaningful and accurate information on the consumption and use patterns of plant protection products. This publication presents the second update of the report from Eurostat on 'The use of plant protection products in the European Union', including for the first time figures for the ten new Member States for the four years preceding their accession to the EU in 2004. It provides statistical information on the estimated consumption of plant protection products, broken down by Member States, treated crops, chemical classes and active substances.

Meaningful and reliable data on the use of plant protection products are necessary to monitor the risks related to their use, in particular the risks for the environment. Such data will become an essential tool to measure the progress of the Thematic Strategy on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides recently proposed by the Commission for adoption by the Council and the Parliament. Before official statistics on the use of plant protection products are delivered by the Member States on a mandatory basis, the estimations of use provided by the European Crop Protection Association (ECPA) are very useful since they are the only detailed data available at crop and active substance level; with the exception of the very few official surveys carried out in some Member States.