Pesticides

The pesticide industry is a heavily regulated industry and the production, storage, sale and use of plant protection products is subject to numerous established rules.

Counterfeit pesticides, as products produced without respecting the rules and requirements existing in the legitimate production process and sold on the black market, represent a serious threat to human health, the environment, crops and natural watercourses. The use of counterfeit pesticides leads to the devastation of agricultural areas and other ecosystems, such as bee populations.

According to the conducted research, Asia is still the primary source of counterfeit pesticides, but a significant part of production and final processing takes place in the European Union. That is why the responsible authorities paid a lot of attention to the mentioned problem, and this is supported by the results of a large coordinated operation by Europol against pesticide counterfeiters called Silver Axe VIII, which was carried out in 2023 and in which 2,040 tons of illegal pesticides were seized and 21 suspects were arrested.