Sales of glyphosate, a controversial weedkiller, fell in France in 2021, falling below the average of the last ten years, the ministries of Ecological Transition and Agriculture reported on Thursday.

The use of glyphosate is debated within the European Union.

Its authorization, which runs until December 2022, will probably be extended for a year to give the health authorities time to decide on its dangerousness.



In 2021, 7,765 tons of this herbicide were sold, down 10% year on year.

This volume is lower "by 9% than the average observed over the last ten years (8,546 tonnes)", specifies the Ministry of Ecological Transition on its site.

President Emmanuel Macron had promised at the end of 2017 that glyphosate would be banned in France "at the latest in three years", before retracting.

The volumes of glyphosate sold are scrutinized by environmental associations who criticize the French executive for slowing down the use of pesticides too timidly, despite the succession of “Ecophyto” plans.

Sales up and down since 2018

Its sales have been up and down since 2018: farmers, in fact, stock products that are about to become more expensive, consume these stocks, then reap glyphosate before new rules appear on the labels, such as the ban to spray the herbicide between the rows of vines.

For its part, the SNCF, which was the largest user of glyphosate in France to weed the railway tracks and their surroundings, turned to an alternative solution at the beginning of 2022.

Overall, and according to still provisional data, pesticide sales (excluding authorized organic products and biocontrol solutions) were almost stable in 2021 over one year (+0.7%).

They are "19% below the 2012-2017 average", highlight the administrations.

Alternative solutions

"Sales of biocontrol products and products that can be used in organic farming are increasing by 13% between 2020 and 2021, which shows the development of alternative solutions", they say.

“Reducing or stopping the use of phytosanitary products requires having serious and operational alternatives to allow farmers to promote new economically viable agricultural practices and guarantee our food sovereignty”, underlines the Ministry of Agriculture in a statement.

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