As the European Crop Protection Association (ECPA) takes part in supporting World Intellectual Property Day 2006 today, it reiterates that the growth in counterfeiting and illegal trade is undermining future innovation in the crop protection sector as well as endangering farmers, consumers and the environment.

ECPA currently estimates that counterfeit and illegal products account for approximately 5-7% of the European crop protection market. This is equivalent to roughly EUR500 million and continues to grow.

ECPA Director General, Friedhelm Schmider, noted that these illegal activities "can cause immense damage to crops by unsuspecting farmers. Moreover, they pose major risks to the health and well-being of consumers and compromise the surrounding environment following application." ECPA encourages competent authorities to become more vigilant in their monitoring of imported products and to work with all stakeholders to ensure that only fully authorised and approved products are used by farmers and growers. ECPA will work with authorities and stakeholders as a committed partner, helping to develop innovative solutions that will minimise the damaging impacts to agriculture.

The crop protection industry is a highly innovative one and safeguarding intellectual property is of utmost importance. According to a study commissioned by CropLife International last year, the top ten agrochemical companies spent $2.25 billion, or 7.5% of sales, on research and development in 2004. A joint ECPA-CropLife America study showed that it takes up to ten years and around EUR200 million to develop a new crop protection product.

The European Crop Protection Association (ECPA) is the pan-European voice of the crop protection industry. Its membership consists of 17 market-leading companies as well as national associations in 27 countries. ECPA's members provide not only traditional crop protection products such as insecticides, herbicides and fungicides, but also biopesticides and genetically modified seeds.