Abstract |
This report provides an economic evaluation of pesticide industry trends, outlook and need for exclusive-use-of-data privileges under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). Periodically, an exclusive-use amendment to FIFRA is proposed based on the argument that, without such protection, companies conducting pesticide research and development do not have the opportunity to recover their expenses and make acceptable profits on their new products. To evaluate this contention, data on pesticide production, sales, profitability, industry entrances and exits, and research and development expenditures were analyzed. These data indicated that the pesticide industry is economically dynamic and growing with growth predicted to continue for the forseeable future. Value of sales has increased fourfold during the past decade (from $0.6 billion in 1966 to $2.4 billion in 1976) and is forecast to continue rising. In comparison to other industries, pesticide production was generally a high profit business. Expenditures on pesticide research and development increased by $107.5 million (from $87.7 million in 1971 to $195.2 million in 1976) in a five-year period. In addition, pesticide firms continue to expand their production capacity and the pesticide industry still attracts firms to the industry. Consequently, it was concluded that the industry does not need special market protection from Congress via exclusive-use-of-data privileges. |