REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 1185/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2009 concerning statistics on pesticides
Date: 2017-03-03
Institutions: European Commission, Eurostat
Subjects: EU statistics, data transmission, disclosure of information, environmental protection, environmental statistics, information processing, market approval, pesticide, plant health control

EN 

   EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 3.3.2017  COM(2017) 109 final   REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 1185/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2009 concerning statistics on pesticides  
 
 
1.  INTRODUCTION 

Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 1185/2009 (hereinafter referred to as the Regulation) of the 
European Parliament and of the Council concerning statistics on pesticides1 stipulates that: 
‘The  Commission  shall  submit  a  report  on  the  implementation  of  this  Regulation  to  the 
European  Parliament  and  the  Council  every  five  years.  This  report  shall  evaluate  in 
particular  the  quality  of  data  transmitted,  as  referred  to  in  Article  4,  the  data  collection 
methods,  the  burden  on  businesses,  agricultural  holdings  and  national  administrations  and 
the  usefulness  of  these  statistics  in  the  context  of  the  Thematic  Strategy  on  the  Sustainable 
Use of  Pesticides in  particular  with regard to the objectives set out in Article 1. It shall, if 
appropriate, contain proposals designed to further improve data quality and data collection 
methods thereby improving the coverage and comparability of data and reducing the burden 
on businesses, agricultural holdings, and national administrations. The first report shall be 
submitted by 31 December 2016.’ 

2.  COVERAGE AND CONTENT 

According to Article 2 (a) of the Regulation, ‘pesticides’ refer to ‘a plant protection product 
(PPP) as defined in Article 2(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1107/20092 or to a biocidal product as 
defined  in  Article  2(1)  of  Directive  98/8/EC’3.  The  Regulation  stipulates  that  the  Member 
States have to transmit annually to the Commission their statistical data on pesticides placed 
on the market each year (pesticide sales statistics). In addition, they have to provide statistics 
on pesticides used in agriculture (pesticide use statistics) in five-year periods. The data should 
include  confidential  data.  The  Member  States  also  have  to  provide  the  Commission  with 
reports on the quality of the data transmitted, and the Commission in turn has to assess the 
quality of this data. 

2.1. Pesticide sales statistics 

For  pesticides  placed  on  the  market,  the  reference  period  is  the  calendar  year.  The  first 
reference  period  was  the  second  calendar  year  following  30  December  2009.  Data  is  to  be 
transmitted within 12 months of the end of the reference year, while the quality reports are 
due 3 months later. The data and quality reports transmitted so far cover reference years 2011 
to 2014 inclusive. 

1 
2  

3  

OJ L 324, 10.12.2009, p. 4. 
Regulation  (EC)  No  1107/2009  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  21  October  2009 
concerning  the  placing  of  plant  protection  products  on  the  market  and  repealing  Council  Directives 
79/117/EEC and 91/414/EEC  (OJ L 309, 24.11.2009, p.1). 
OJ  L  123,  24.4.1998,  p.  1.  Please  note  that  Directive  98/8/EC  has  been  repealed  with  effect  from  1 
September 2013 by  Regulation (EU) No 528/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 
22 May 2012 concerning the making available on the market and use of biocidal products (OJ L 167, 
27.6.2012, p. 1). 
References to the repealed Directive shall be construed as references to Regulation EU) No 528/2012. 

2 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
 
2.2. Pesticide use statistics 

For statistics on the use of pesticides in agriculture, the reference period must be a period of a 
maximum of 12 months within each five-year period. The first five-year period started in the 
first calendar year following 30 December 2009. These data and quality reports are expected 
within  12  months  of  the  end  of  each  five-year  period.  The  transmission  of  the  data  and 
quality  reports  of  the  first  five-year  period  (reference  years  2010-2014  inclusive)  thus 
concluded in December 2015. 

For both sets of data, the Commission (Eurostat) must aggregate the data before publication, 
taking due account to protect confidential data from the Member States. This means that the 
Commission (Eurostat) cannot provide any statistics on individual active substances. 

The following chapters provide an overall assessment of the quality of the pesticide sales data 
transmitted  by  the  Member  States.  This  assessment  is  generated  from  the  quality  reports 
provided by the Member States as required by Article 4 of the Regulation. The quality criteria 
applied are laid down in Article 12(1)  Statistical quality of Regulation (EC) No 223/20094. 
The validation of the quality reports for the pesticide use statistics has not yet been finalised, 
and they are therefore not analysed below. 

2.3. Data collection methods and sources 

For  most  of  the  28 Member  States,  and  Norway,  all  underlying  primary  data  on  pesticide 
sales are derived from administrative sources for which reporting is obligatory under law. All 
countries  except  Denmark,  Slovenia  and  Norway  consider  all  information  related  to 
individual  respondents  as  confidential.  Most  countries  have  no  public  databases,  and 
aggregated data is usually available in statistical publications and/or web pages. In Belgium 
and  Norway  individual  data  is  available  on  request.  As  Switzerland  has  a  derogation,  no 
quality reports are available. For more details, see Annex I. 

2.4. Quality of transmitted data 

All Member States, Switzerland and Norway are compliant on the coverage and timeliness of 
their  data.  Most  countries  provide  their  data  sets  on  time  and  react  in  a  spirit  of  good 
cooperation when further checks or corrections are required. 

Concerning  accuracy,  reliability,  and  comparability,  most  countries  stated  that  since  their 
primary  pesticide  sales  data  was  collected  from  administrative  sources  or  from  the 

4  

Regulation  (EC)  No  223/2009  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  11  March  2009  on 
European statistics and repealing Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 1101/2008 of the European Parliament 
and  of  the  Council  on  the  transmission  of  data  subject  to  statistical  confidentiality  to  the  Statistical 
Office  of  the  European  Communities,  Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  322/97  on  Community  Statistics, 
and Council Decision 89/382/EEC, Euratom establishing a Committee on the Statistical Programmes of 
the European Communities (OJ L 87, 31.3.2009, p. 164) 

3 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
 
authorisation  holders,  they  considered  that  the  data  supplied  was  accurate.  In  addition, 
sampling errors were not relevant, since only the actual administrative values were collected 
and estimates or samples were not used. However, different methods of data collection were 
used. 

The  Commission  therefore  considers  that  all  primary  pesticide  sales  data  is  accurate  and 
reliable, since there were no computations or estimates of the values that the statistics were 
intended to measure. As a consequence, the aggregated pesticide sales data is also considered 
accurate and reliable. 

In general, most countries reported taking the following precautionary measures to ensure the 
statistical quality required of their data: 

• 
• 

• 
• 
• 

frequently reviewing and updating their questionnaires; 
taking account of problems reported and recommendations  made by respondents 
in previous years; 
using a complete directory of authorised products; 
subjecting the data to internal quality control processes; 
storing  the  data  in  secure  environments  wherever  it  is  protected  by  statistical 
confidentiality. 

Pesticide  sales  data  provides  a  good  quality  estimate  of  the  total  quantity  of  pesticide 
products  placed  on  the  market  on  a  national  basis.  It  can  show  trends  in  new  types  of 
pesticides,  quantities  of  products  over  time  and  the  subsequent  risks  for  people  and  the 
environment.  Such  estimates  could  be  improved  in  future  by  distinguishing  between 
professional  and  'home  &  garden'  authorisations  (i.e.  for  agricultural  and  non-agricultural 
purposes,  respectively).  Additional  checks  on  data  quality  could  also  be  envisaged  for  the 
volumes of remaining stocks. For more information, see Annex II. 

3.  RELEVANCE — USEFULNESS OF THE STATISTICAL DATA AND DISSEMINATION 

3.1. Information received from stakeholders 

Consultations  with  relevant  Commission's  services  and  agencies  have  brought  forward  the 
following important points for consideration: 

  Any  legislation  on  pesticides  statistics  should  cater  for  harmonised  risk  indicators, 
which  the  Commission  has  to  draw  up  under  Article  15  of  the  Sustainable  Use 
Directive (SUD)5, and should facilitate the calculation of risk indicators ‘by using the 
statistical  data  collected’.  The  task  of  collecting  the  statistical  data  on  pesticides 
cannot be seen as completely separate from the task of using these data for calculating 
risk. It would seem logical that the risk indicators should be known first, before any 

5  

Directive 2009/128/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 establishing 
a framework for Community action to achieve the sustainable use of pesticides. (OJ L 309, 24.11.2009, 
p. 71) 

4 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
decision is taken on the data to be collected for this purpose. Further discussions are 
deemed  necessary  and  Member  States  shall  also  be  consulted  in  the  SUD  working 
group. 

  Stakeholders  suggest  to  adapt  the  legislation  so  that  figures  aggregated  at  a  lower 
level  can  be  released,  as  they  could  be  needed  for  calculating  risk  indicators.  The 
difficulty of collecting meaningful data on pesticides use from farmers, and the costs 
to Member States of doing so has been acknowledged as well as the difficulty to reach 
an  EU-wide  agreement  on  which  crops  are  relevant  as  these  can  differ considerably 
between the different climatic zones in Europe. 

  Pesticides are a cause of pollution and have a direct effect especially on the state of 
biodiversity,  water  bodies,  and  soils.  To  ensure  that  these  impacts  are  addressed 
appropriately,  it  is  essential  that  policymakers  are  able  to  quantify  the  risk  and  the 
level of pesticide pollution. This would also aid the better implementation of existing 
environmental  policy  tools  and  serve  to  identify  the  remaining  policy  gaps  for 
addressing  the  environmental  pressures  caused  by  pesticides.  Currently,  the  policies 
concerned  by  the  data  needs  are  the  EU  Biodiversity  Strategy  2020,  the  common 
agricultural policy (CAP), the Water Framework Directive, and the Thematic Strategy 
on Soils.  

  Pesticide  statistics  are  too  aggregated  to  effectively  inform  environmental  risk 
assessment.  A  robust  analysis  of  the  impacts  of  pesticide  application  on  ecosystems 
would  require  data  on  which  specific  active  substances  in  pesticides  are  applied  to 
which crops, as well as information on the types of ecosystems in which those crops 
are  sited.  Data  on  hazard,  i.e.  (eco)toxicological  properties,  is  specific  to  active 
substances.  Thus,  the  only  way  to  effectively  combine  hazard  data  with  data  on 
exposure  in  order  to  understand  risk  is  to  have  data  on  the  application  rates  for 
specific active substances in pesticides by crop, area and ecosystem type. In addition, 
cumulative  risk  assessment  methods,  would  need  to  be  applied  to  provide  an 
understanding  of  how  the  mixtures  of  active  substances,  safeners  and  synergists 
interact to generate combined effects in pesticides.  

  The Regulation does not require information from the Member States on the type of 
ecosystem where substances are applied. The impact of mixtures of active substances 
on  the  ecosystem  in  which  a  crop  is  situated  depends  on  the  characteristics  of  that 
ecosystem, including both biotic and abiotic features. The 'mapping and assessment of 
ecosystems  and  their  services'  project6  provides  an  agreed  typology  of  ecosystems. 
This  typology  could  serve  as  a  basis  for  Member  States  reporting  on  pesticides 
application by ecosystem type, and enrich our understanding of the risks of pesticides 
to  the  environment.  A  robust  analysis  of  risks  to  the  environment  associated  with 
pesticides  is  required  to  support  the  comparative  assessment  of  candidates  for 
substitution  as  required  under  Article  50  of  Regulation  (EC)  No  1107/2009 

6  

http://biodiversity.europa.eu/maes 

5 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market. This is not possible 
with the data currently available. 

  Should pesticides statistics become available at a sufficient level of detail, they could 
be extremely useful for conducting retrospective risk assessments of the actual levels 
of risk expected from the overall use of pesticides in the EU, for human and animal 
health, and the environment. This would allow the estimation of trends based on risk 
to  complement  those  on  sales.  As  each  pesticide  active  substance  has  a  different 
toxicity and likelihood for exposure, trends based on their risk to human and animal 
health  and  the  different  non-target  organism  groups  could  be  highly  valuable  for 
supporting  EU  policies  on  public  health,  consumer  protection,  animal  health  and 
environmental  protection.  Such  assessments  would  complement 
the  annual 
assessments of the risk to consumers from the levels of pesticide residues monitored 
by the Member States. 

  A balance between confidentiality and the relevance or usefulness of the data could be 
achieved  by  exploring  different  aggregation  options,  for  example  based  on  toxicity 
and  use  patterns.  Consequently  dialogue  is  suggested  between  the  Commission's 
services,  agencies,  and  other  relevant  actors  to  explore  options  that  could  help 
maximise the relevance and usefulness of the data in the future. 

3.2. Studies on non-agricultural use of pesticides 

Agriculture is the most obvious and probably the largest professional sector using pesticides. 
However, other professional or amateur users may also contribute more or less significantly 
to  the total amount  of pesticides  used. A comparison  of the quantities of pesticides used  in 
agriculture  with  the  overall  amount  placed  on  the  market  is  envisaged  in  the  quality  report 
that  will  accompany  the  data  on  pesticide  use  in  agriculture.  The  Regulation  covers  both 
annual statistics on the placing on the market of pesticides and statistics on agricultural use of 
pesticides. There is a lack of consistency between these two sets as there is no information on 
pesticides  used  for  non-agricultural  purposes.  This  was  also  noted  in  the  negotiations 
preceding the approval of the Regulation, and so an indent was added in Section 6 (Quality 
reports)  of  Annex  II  of  the  Regulation:  ‘–  a  summary  description  of  the  commercial  non-
agricultural  uses  of  pesticides  obtained  in  the  framework  of  pilot  studies  to  be  led  by  the 
Commission’. 

6 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 1. Overview of different uses of pesticides 

All pesticide uses 

Professional uses 

Non-professional uses 

Agricultural uses 

Non-agricultural uses 

In  2011  the  Commission  awarded  grants  for  pilot  studies  to  estimate  both  commercial  and 
non-commercial non-agricultural use of pesticides. Five countries (Belgium, Italy, Lithuania, 
Latvia  and  Romania)  applied  for  grants.  In  addition,  the  Commission  is  aware  that  such 
surveys have been carried out in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. 

The pilot surveys focused on sectors such as: 

- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 
- 

landscaped areas or gardens, outdoor leisure areas, parks; 
sports, leisure areas and facilities; 
railways; 
highways and roads; 
airports and seaports; 
archaeological sites; 
kitchen garden growers /hobby farmers; 
state forests; 
gardens and parks; 
others. 

The main lessons learned from earlier action and from the pilot studies are the following: 

1. 

2. 

3. 
4. 

there is a huge diversity of patterns of non-agricultural uses of pesticides among 
the Member States or even between national regions; 
predominant  sectors  of  use  can  be  identified  and  are  common  to  most  Member 
States; 
a limited list of active substances is associated with the predominant uses; 
the  different  sectors  of  use  require  different  methods  of  data  collection  or  a 
combination of methods. 

Besides  the  apparent  diversity  of  national  or  regional  situations,  certain  major  actors  are 
common to all Member States and should be the basis for all surveys on the use of pesticides 
in the non-agricultural sectors. These are: 

1. 

residential areas (including home & gardening); 

7 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2. 
3. 
4. 
5. 

public areas (including golf courses); 
industrial areas; 
infrastructure; 
forests 

These  sectors  of  activity  should  be  covered  as  a  priority  and  should  be  the  basis  for 
comparing statistics on non-agricultural pesticide uses between Member States or regions. 

3.3. Extending the scope of the Regulation 

Recital  (5)  of  the  Regulation  anticipates  that  the  scope  will  be  extended  to  cover  biocidal 
products. In its report  7 on the sustainable use of biocides, the Commission has stated that it 
does not seem appropriate to simply extend the scope of the SUD to biocidal products. For 
that reason, the Commission also finds it unnecessary to extend the scope of the Regulation to 
biocidal products, even if this was the initial intention. 

4.  COST AND BURDEN 

The  costs  and  administrative  burden  of  the  surveys  depend  greatly  on  the  survey  method 
chosen. 

The pesticide sales statistics rely in many Member States on the administrative data kept by 
the pesticide authorities or the authorisation holders (see Annex I). This means that the costs 
relate to contacting the authorities or the often quite limited number of authorisation holders 
to request the data, and then to processing it. While no actual numbers are available from all 
Member States, both the number of working days involved and actual costs are reported to be 
quite low in most cases. The costs and the burden to the reporting units are also reported to be 
quite  reasonable,  since  the  data  required  has  to  be  recorded  anyway  as  stipulated  in 
Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009.  

The pesticide use statistics require the information to be recorded at farm level, which leads 
to  a higher burden. This  means that a sample has  to be set up, questionnaires prepared and 
interviewers  or  letters  sent  if  an  electronic  collection  system  has  not  been  developed.  The 
total  costs  are  heavily  dependent  on  the  method  chosen,  which  can  also  be  seen  from  the 
information  transmitted  to  the  Commission.  No  direct  conclusions  can  be  drawn  from  the 
reports on the costs involved as the information is not sufficiently detailed for this purpose.  

As  explained,  the  information  in  most  countries  comes  directly  from  farmers.  Under 
Regulation  (EC)  No  1107/2009,  professional  users  (farmers  or  entrepreneurs)  must  keep 
accounts of their use of pesticides. This means that the information should be readily at hand 
when the farmer has to answer the interviewer or fill in the questionnaire. This is mirrored in 

7 

COM (2016) 151 
(http://ec.europa.eu/health/biocides/docs/2016_report_sustainableuse_biocides_en.pdf.) 

8 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
the quality reports, which in many cases show that limited time — from 15 minutes to about 
2 hours per survey (every 5 years) — is needed on farms to complete the surveys. 

5.  EXPERIENCE FROM THE FIRST FIVE YEARS 

Data  on  pesticide  sales  have  been  transmitted  annually  since  December  2012  (2011  data). 
Despite  some  initial  technical issues  within the  Commission,  the  processes  are  now  mature 
and  run  well.  The  first  data  on  the  agricultural  use  of  pesticides  was  transmitted  to  the 
Commission at the end of 2015. To this date, due to the very large volume of complex data, it 
has not been possible to fully process the data, which means it is not yet available to users. 
Consequently,  no  assessment  of  its  usefulness  has  been  made  yet.  Despite  this,  some 
observed weaknesses and recommendations are given below. 

5.1. Availability of detailed pesticide data 

The Regulation prohibits the disclosure of data on individual active substances. According to 
Article 3(4) .: ‘For reasons of confidentiality, the Commission (Eurostat) shall aggregate the 
data  before  publication  in  accordance  with  the  chemical  classes  or  categories  of  products 
indicated in Annex III, taking due account of the protection of confidential data at the level of 
individual Member State. The confidential data shall be used by national authorities and by 
the Commission (Eurostat) exclusively for statistical purposes, in accordance with Article 20 
of Regulation (EC) No 223/2009.’ 

Consequently,  the  Commission  cannot  publish  data  on  individual  active  substances.  In 
addition, the aggregated data cannot always be disseminated if there is a direct or indirect risk 
of statistical units being identified, this is the general rule in statistics to protect data privacy. 

If the sales statistics would be collected from retail sellers, there would be a high number of 
statistical  units,  giving  little  cause  for  data  confidentiality  issues.  However,  it  has  become 
apparent that most Member States collect the data directly from authorisation holders. This is 
done  either  in  the  form  of  administrative  data  that  have  been  transmitted  to  the  pesticide 
authorities,  or  through  a  questionnaire.  For  most  active  substances,  this  means  that  there  is 
only one data provider, which leads to the information being confidential. As there are many 
classes  with  only  a  few  substances,  or  the  producer/importer  is  the  same  for  many  of  the 
substances in the group, this has led to a situation where a considerable amount of aggregated 
data at higher levels is also confidential. The Commission considers that the sales data legally 
required by the Regulation is being collected successfully and transmitted to the Commission 
by the countries. It also considers that the overall quality of the data is good. However, the 
application of the confidentiality rules to a substantial share of the data decreases the value of 
the statistical information provided to users. It therefore cannot be assumed that users’ needs 
are being well served by the Regulation. 

9 

 
 
 
 
 
 
5.2. Pesticide sales statistics 

Comparing  sales  of  pesticides  between  countries  and  over  years  is  not  straightforward 
because external factors such as climatic conditions, soils and production methods can have a 
big impact on the types and volumes of pesticides needed. 

Where a product is sold may not be where it is ultimately applied, and pesticides may also be 
sold directly to farmers by retail sellers in neighbouring countries. This may represent a small 
fraction of the total pesticides sales, but these quantities are not reflected correctly in the sales 
statistics. There can also be a delay between the sale of the pesticide and its use, depending 
on whether it is bought for stock or for direct use. 

Many users would like to obtain detailed data on the volumes of individual active substances 
sold. However, neither the Commission nor the national statistics institutes can provide this 
information as they have to comply with the Regulation and the confidentiality rules. 

The  Regulation  is,  as  described  above,  very  restrictive  in  how  the  Commission  may 
disseminate  the  data.  All  data  has  to  be  aggregated  into  classes  and  groups,  regardless  of 
whether  or  not  the  data  is  deemed  confidential  by  the  Member  States.  Moreover,  the 
Commission cannot deviate from the classes established in Annex III to the Regulation.  

As users are often interested in specific active substances or groups of substances that differ 
from the predefined classes, the Regulation could be seen as too restrictive; it does not allow 
the  proper  analyses  to  be  carried  out.  A  good  example  is  the  recent  discussions  on 
neonicotinoids,  the  group  of  pesticides  that  are  potentially  causing  damage  to  bees.  The 
active  substances  concerned  are  not  all  in  the  same  chemical  classes  in  Annex  III,  which 
means  that  the  Commission  has  not  been  able  to  provide  all  relevant  data  to  the  policy 
makers.  

The  Regulation  stipulates  that  the  only  unit  to  use  is  the  weight  but  biological  pesticides 
should not be expressed in weight but in 'colony forming units'. This creates problems both 
for the data providers and the users of the data, as the data provided makes no sense or have 
to be transformed before data transmission and use. This purely technical issue needs to be 
developed further. 

5.3. Pesticide use statistics 

The Regulation provides that for the statistics on agricultural use of pesticides, each Member 
State has to decide on a selection of crops to be covered during the five-year reference period 
that is representative of the crops cultivated in that Member State and of the substances used. 
The  selection  of  crops  has  to  include  those  most  relevant  for  the  national  pesticide  action 
plans.  However,  as  national  action  plans  do  not  always  contain  any  reference  to  the  most 
relevant crops, the choice of crops has been quite diverse. This has led to a situation where 

10 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
there  is  a  risk  that  it  will  not  be  possible  to  fully  compare  data  on  pesticide  use  on  crops 
between countries.   

The  reference  period  has  to  be  a  maximum  of  12  months  covering  all  plant  protection 
treatments associated directly or indirectly with the crop, during a five-year period. Member 
States may choose the reference period at any time of the five-year period and the choice can 
be  made  independently  for  each  selected  crop.  This  has  led  to  a  situation  where  countries 
have chosen different reference periods and thus it will potentially not be possible to compare 
data for the same year between countries, nor to give any EU-level results. 

6.  PROPOSALS FOR FURTHER IMPROVEMENTS 

The  Commission,  taking  into  account  the  opinion  of  the  relevant  stakeholders,  considers  it 
important  to  further  adapt  the  legislation  on  pesticides  sales,  so  that  all  data  that  is  not 
confidential  can  be  made  available  to  the  public  both  as  active  substance,  as  well  as  in 
different forms of aggregation.  

The Commission considers it equally important to adapt further the legislation on pesticides 
use statistics to ensure a more consistent approach and coverage across the Member States. 
This could include specified common reference periods and clear coverage requirements for 
the crops to be surveyed. The coverage rules could be based on the crop production statistics 
(a certain percentage of arable and permanent crops could be covered) and on analyses of the 
potential risks to the environment and human health, based on the sales of active substances. 
These  rules  would  be  set  up  in  close  collaboration  between  the  relevant  Commission's 
services and agencies and with national experts. 

Finally,  the  Commission  has,  together  with  stakeholders,  drafted  a  strategy  for  agricultural 
statistics for 2020 and beyond8. The strategy suggests that all agricultural statistics, except the 
Economic  Accounts  for  Agriculture,  should  be  grouped  under  two  framework  regulations. 
The  Commission  strongly  recommends  that  pesticide  statistics  should  be  also  merged  with 
the other agricultural statistics domains. 

8  

Strategy for agricultural statistics 2020 and beyond - Final. 

11 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
ANNEX I 

The information presented in this Annex is based on the national quality reports provided by 
the countries according to the Regulation 

RESPONSIBLE NATIONAL 
AUTHORITIES FOR PESTICIDES 
SALES 

DATA COLLECTION METHODS FOR PESTICIDES SALES 

BE 

Federal Public Service of Health, 
Food Chain Safety and 
Environment 

Administrative data; authorisation holders (producers, 
importers and exporters) are required to declare the 
amounts placed on the market 

BG  Ministry of Agriculture and Food 

Administrative data based on declarations by the authorised 
distributors 

CZ 

Czech Statistical Office 

Administrative data; entrepreneurs who place products on 
the market or store them for export to third countries are 
obliged to report to the Central Institute for Supervising and 
Testing in Agriculture (CISTA). The data collection is done 
online and/or through paper questionnaires  

DK 

Danish Environmental Protection 
Agency, Ministry of Environment 
and Food of Denmark 

Administrative data. Obligatory reporting by Danish 
authorisation holders electronically and foreign ones by 
email 

DE 

Federal Office of Consumer 
Protection and Food Safety (BVL) 

EE 

Statistics Estonia 

Administrative data; authorisation holders (including 
holders of parallel trade permits), manufacturers and 
distributors are required to report the amounts sold 
nationally or exported, including sales for emergency 
situations 

Census survey of all importers and suppliers by web 
application and/or through paper-based postal survey 

IE 

Department of Agriculture, Food 
and the Marine 

The data is collected on a census basis. The administrative 
data is sourced from all the product authorisation 
holders and marketing companies 

EL 

Hellenic Statistical Authority 
(ELSTAT) 

ES 

Ministry of Agriculture, Food 
and  Environment 

Statistical survey of all sellers within the national territory 
conducted by the Ministry of Rural Development and Food, 
by letter or email. Since 2014 sellers have been obliged to 
record the data online  

Electronic questionnaire/survey (within and outside the 
national territory) of authorised holders and respondents to 
whom the commercialisation rights have been transferred. 
Administrative data is provided by S.G. Sanidad Vegetal 

12 

 
 
 
RESPONSIBLE NATIONAL 
AUTHORITIES FOR PESTICIDES 
SALES 

DATA COLLECTION METHODS FOR PESTICIDES SALES 

FR 

Ministry of Agriculture, Food and 
Forestry 

Administrative data; distributors are obliged to declare sales 
to the water agencies. The sales figures are then further 
processed by the Ministry of the Environment 

HR 

Croatian Bureau of Statistics  

Administrative data; the Ministry of Agriculture is 
responsible for collecting data from distributors and sales 
points 

IT 

CY 

LV 

Italian National Institute of 
Statistics (ISTAT) 

Statistical Service of Cyprus 
(CYSTAT) 

Postal census survey of all distributors  

Postal or electronic questionnaire/survey of suppliers.   
Administrative data is provided by the Ministry of 
Agriculture 

State Plant Protection Service of 
Latvia (SPPS) 

Full survey (paper and/or electronic) of all respondents — 
distributors 

LT 

Statistics Lithuania 

Full survey of all producers and authorisation holders 

LU 

Institut National de la Statistique 
et des Etudes Economiques 
(STATEC) 

Census of vendors (retailers or wholesalers) and 
cooperatives 

HU 

Hungarian Central Statistical 
Office 

The National Food Chain Safety Office (Ministry of Rural 
Development) collects the data from authorisation holders  

MT  National Statistics Office (NSO) 

Online census survey of authorised importers 

NL 

Statistics Netherlands 

Administrative data obtained from the Plant Protection 
Office (NVWA) 

AT 

Statistics Austria (STAT), Austrian 
Agency for Health and Food 
Safety (AGES) 

Authorisation; approval holders and distributors are obliged 
to report data to the Austrian Federal Office for Food Safety 

PL 

Central Statistical Office 

Full-scale survey conducted in cooperation with the Ministry 
of Agriculture and Rural Development and with the Institute 
of Plant Protection — National Research Institute 

PT 

Statistics Portugal (INE), National 
Authority (DGAV) 

Administrative data is obtained from the National Authority 
Direção Geral de Alimentação e Veterinária (DGAV)  

13 

 
 
 
RESPONSIBLE NATIONAL 
AUTHORITIES FOR PESTICIDES 
SALES 

RO  National Institute of Statistics 

DATA COLLECTION METHODS FOR PESTICIDES SALES 

A census survey based on face-to-face interviews, 
conducted in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture 
and Rural Development (National Plant Protection Agency). 
It covers certified selling units, economic operators and 
natural persons 

SI 

Statistical Office of the Republic 
of Slovenia 

Administrative data reported to the Administration of the 
Republic of Slovenia for Food Safety, Veterinary Medicine 
and Plant Protection (UVHVVR) 

SK 

Statistical Office of the Slovak 
Republic (SOSR) 

Administrative data; the Central Controlling and Testing 
Institute in Agriculture (CCTIA) collects data from 
authorisation holders or parallel trade permit holders 

FI 

Finnish Safety and Chemicals 
Agency (Tukes) 

The Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency (Tukes) collects 
data by mail or email from authorisation holders or their 
representatives 

SE 

Swedish Chemicals Agency (KemI)  The agency gathers data from authorisation holders 

UK 

Chemicals Regulation Directorate 

Voluntary, electronic census of businesses conducted by the 
British Crop Production Council on behalf of the Office for 
National Statistics (ONS) 

NO  Norwegian Food Safety Authority  Administrative data from importers and producers 

14 

 
 
 
 
 
 
ANNEX II 

The information presented in this Annex is based on the national quality reports provided by 
the countries according to the Regulation  

QUALITY OF PESTICIDES SALES DATA 
TRANSMITTED  

USEFULNESS OF PESTICIDES SALES STATISTICS 

BE 

No estimates are required and 
overestimates are rather unlikely due to the 
association between declared data and fees 

The data is used to calculate the annual fee for 
placing pesticides on the market and to estimate 
the overall quantities used at national level and 
the subsequent risks for man and the 
environment  

BG 

The data is comprehensive and covers all 
available exports and imports 

The data is specific, with only a few potential 
users 

CZ 

The sources cover all units legally obliged to 
report and all products placed on the market 

DK 

The amount of sales is reported as the total 
amount of the sale of each product 

DE 

The overall accuracy of the data is 
considered satisfactory, although non-
response mainly due to incorrect contact 
details of parallel trade companies could be 
a problem. Under-coverage due to illegal 
trade cannot be estimated  

EE 

The quality of the statistics is quite high 
because all sales companies are covered and 
the response rate was high 

15 

The data is used mainly by CISTA for 
phytosanitary control purposes, planning and 
carrying out checks on distributors’ compliance  

Users are politicians, agriculture, NGOs and the 
public.  
Uses of the data include monitoring the target of 
reducing the pesticide load by 40 % by the end of 
2015 compared with 2011 (Danish Pesticide 
strategy 2013-2015, now prolonged by 1 year) 

The Federal Office of Consumer Protection and 
Food Safety (BVL) uses the data for internal post-
registration monitoring tasks. Data is also 
published in the German Statistical Yearbook on 
Food, Agriculture and Forestry and in the Federal 
Gazette (‘Bundesanzeiger’). The Julius Kühn 
Institut (JKI), the Federal Research Centre for 
Cultivated Plants, also receives this data. Other 
authorities, e.g. the Federal Environmental 
Agency (UBA) or research institutions, are 
provided with substance-specific sales data on 
request  

Users include the Agricultural Board, the 
Agricultural Research Centre, the Ministry of 
Agriculture, other ministries, research and 
education institutions, the media, other 
organisations and companies, and  private 
individuals  

 
 
 
QUALITY OF PESTICIDES SALES DATA 
TRANSMITTED  

Data returned from the product 
authorisation holders and marketing 
companies is the actual real figure involved. 
Consequently the quality of the data is 
considered to be high 

USEFULNESS OF PESTICIDES SALES STATISTICS 

Only a few requests for this data have ever been 
received. Companies and authorisation holders 
have access to this register and can view 
information for each product  

The implementation of the online system 
has improved the overall quality. In 
particular it has raised the response rates 
from the low levels seen in the past 

The Ministry of Rural Development and Food, the 
government, the press, the media and academic 
researchers use this data to reduce the risks 
associated with pesticides 

IE 

EL 

ES 

The data is subjected to an internal 
consistency process 

To assess the impact of public policies and 
calculate relevant health indicators and 
associated environmental risks  

FR 

The declaration system covers sales to end-
users (or purchases abroad by end-users). 
This prevents double counting linked to 
authorisation transfers or intermediaries in 
the sale chain  

HR 

no information provided by the country 

IT 

Quite satisfactory 

We are not currently aware of any specific user 
needs 

Data users are state bodies, local governments 
and legal and natural persons  

Data is mainly used by the Institute for 
Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA) 
and the Ministry of Agriculture to assess risks to 
man and the environment 

CY 

LV 

The survey was exhaustive with full coverage 
as there were only a few suppliers in the 
country 

The data meets the needs of the Ministry of 
Agriculture 

The overall quality of the statistical output is 
assessed as good. The main strength of the 
process is that the data collection is based 
on legislation 

Mostly scientists, students and the media have 
shown interest in the data. The statistical 
information superficially satisfies national user 
needs 

LT 

The data is collected from reliable sources 
applying high methodological standards 

The main users are state and municipal 
authorities and agencies, international 
organisations, the media, research and business 
communities and students. The data is used to 
identify potential risks to human health and the 
environment 

16 

 
 
 
QUALITY OF PESTICIDES SALES DATA 
TRANSMITTED  

Respondents are also invited to indicate the 
shares of domestic and foreign suppliers or 
intermediaries in order to eliminate 
potential double counting between national 
wholesalers 

Marketed quantities are compared to and 
cross-checked with data from previous years 
at product level 

The overall quality is good. The data 
collection is exhaustive and detailed 
processes are in place to validate and 
analyse the data 

The quality of the data is routinely reviewed 
using a framework that is based on the 
European Statistical System definition of 
quality 

LU 

HU 

MT 

NL 

USEFULNESS OF PESTICIDES SALES STATISTICS 

Sales statistics might be of interest to policy 
makers, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry 
of Environment, environmental lobby groups and 
the research community 

no information provided by the country 

The European Commission is the main user 

The data is used to evaluate government policy 

AT 

no information provided by the country 

Supervision and control  

PL 

Obligatory survey of producers, national 
distributors and importers through 
electronic questionnaires 

PT 

Validations are based on comparisons of 
aggregated data with previous years  

RO 

no information provided by the country 

Data users include central offices, scientific and 
research institutes, students and companies 
operating in the agricultural sector. The data may 
be used to assess the conditions and costs of 
agricultural production and the environmental 
impact  

The data is used to evaluate the market and its 
connection with sales authorisations by the 
national authority 

Users include the Ministry of Agriculture and 
Rural Development, the National Plant Protection 
Agency, the Plant Protection Units, the Academy 
of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, the 
National Institute Research and Development for 
Industrial Ecology, the Centre of Applied 
Biochemistry and Biotechnology, the Ministry of 
Environment, Waters and Forest, and the 
Institute of Research and Development for Plant 
Protection 

17 

 
 
 
QUALITY OF PESTICIDES SALES DATA 
TRANSMITTED  

USEFULNESS OF PESTICIDES SALES STATISTICS 

SI 

The data covers wholesalers within the 
national territory. However, the data cannot 
be disaggregated to lower territorial units as 
it does not allow any conclusions to be 
drawn on where the retail and actual use 
occurs 

Used as a proxy for the amounts of active 
substances used in agriculture 

SK 

The data is of good quality with sufficient 
accuracy and completeness 

The European Commission is the main user 

FI 

The quality of the data can be considered 
good  

SE 

The data covers all products placed on the 
market. The data is processed manually and 
therefore there may be calculation errors 

UK 

The qualitative measure of accuracy is 
deemed acceptable. A multinational 
estimated to have approximately 8 % share 
of the UK market by volume is reported to 
have consistently refused to supply data. 
Other missing responses were not 
considered to be significant as most non-
responders are among the smaller players in 
the market 

NO 

The data quality is considered very good. All 
imports and production have to be reported 
and confirmed by the companies’ 
accountants. Data estimates are not 
required 

Users of the data are agricultural, environmental, 
food safety and health authorities, research 
institutes, and the media. Detailed data has been 
submitted on request for research and 
monitoring purposes  

We have very little information on users. Trends 
are often more interesting than the data itself 

Potential national users may include members of 
the Crop Protection Association. This is the UK 
trade association of companies engaged in the 
manufacture, formulation, development and 
national distribution of pesticides and crop 
protection products for agriculture, forestry, 
horticulture, home gardening, industrial and local 
authority outlets 

The data is used as a basis for calculating the 
environmental tax. Users include government 
bodies, farmers associations, NGOs, industry etc. 
The data is available for both active substances 
and products. Users’ comments indicate a need 
for data at regional level, not only national level. 
However, this is not feasible due to the way the 
data is collected 

18