The dynamics of international pesticide trade

Abstract

This article analyzes the dynamics of international pesticide trade, based on strategies adopted by the sector’s leading multinational corporations. The Comtrade’s database is used to identify trade exchanges between importers and exporters countries from 2000 to 2013. It is identified a centralization of trade flows among certain European (France, Germany, Belgium and UK) and American countries (US, Canada and Brazil), which are hosts of the headquarters and major branch offices of leading pesticide corporations. The data also shows the emergence of China as the main world exporter (in volume) whose competitiveness rests on the manufacture and sale of low-cost pesticides, and Brazil’s leadership on pesticide imports since 2012.