Title: The generics revolution and the new economic geography of the global pesticide industry

The global pesticide industry transformed from one dominated by patented products and legacy multinationals with strong manufacturing bases in the United States and EU to one dominated by generic products produced in India and China. The authors of this paper use proprietary market research data and data from regulatory filings, industry press and bilateral trade data to map how the ‘generics revolution’ is transforming the production and trade in pesticides.

Tracing significant changes in sourcing over two decades, the authors show the emergence of major agribusiness multinationals focused on the generics market as producers, exporters or both. Industrial policy and firm strategy among Chinese firms, which now dominate the generics market, have had a global impact on the industry.

Legacy R&D companies maintain dominance through strong positions in the production and marketing of generics as well, blurring the traditional distinctions between these two sectors.

Overall, the analysis raises serious questions for regulation and efforts to reduce pesticide dependence. For example, increasing weed resistance to glyphosate in particular is spurring a return to older generation herbicides, deepening dependence on cheap generics more likely to be manufactured in China and India where safety may not match Australian standards.

Berndt, C., Werner, M., Mempel, F., Shattuck, A. and Dunivin, Z. (2025), The Generics Revolution and the New Economic Geography of the Global Pesticide Industry. Journal of Agrarian Change, https://doi.org/10.1111/joac.70007

Full-text available here (pre-print version via ResearchGate)



Attachments:
generics from China.jpg
Article: WeedsNews7076 (permalink)
Categories: :WeedsNews:research alert, :WeedsNews:trade, :WeedsNews:economics, :WeedsNews:glyphosate, :WeedsNews:generic pesticices, :WeedsNews:intellectual property, :WeedsNews:patents
Date: 6 July 2025; 2:05:44 pm Australian Eastern Standard Time

Author Name: David Low
Author ID: adminDavid