€1.3 billion lost every year across the EU due to fake pesticides

The production of fake pesticides costs EU businesses €1.3 billion each year

A new report from the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) shows that 13.8% of legitimate revenues are lost each year due to counterfeiting of pesticides in the EU-28.

Those lost sales translate into 2,600 jobs directly lost across the pesticides sector in the EU, as legitimate manufacturers employ fewer people than they would have done in the absence of counterfeiting.

When the knock-on effects of counterfeit pesticides in the marketplace are taken into account, 11,700 jobs are lost in the EU economy.

The total yearly loss of government revenue as a result of counterfeit products in this sector across the EU-28 in terms of taxes and social contributions is estimated at €238 million.

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Press release of the EUIPO

Today´s report is the tenth in a series of studies released by EUIPO via the European Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property Rights into the economic impact of counterfeiting in industrial sectors in the EU. The series previously looked at: the pharmaceutical sector, the spirits and wine sector, the recorded music sector, the handbags and luggage sector, the watches and jewellery sector, the toys and games sector; the sports goods sector; the clothes, shoes and accessories sector; and the cosmetics and personal care items sector.

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