The smuggling of counterfeited pesticides into and their sale across the European Union costs the 28-nation bloc about 1.3 billion euros ($1.4 billion) annually, a fresh study by the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) has revealed.

The survey released Wednesday said the sale of illegally produced pesticides had caused the loss of 2,600 jobs in recent years, with European producers losing about 14 percent of their revenues due to counterfeiting. The study failed to point out where the bulk of the illegal pesticides was coming from.

Among the 28 EU member countries, Germany incurs the biggest loss of some 300 million euros every year, followed by France and Italy, the study says.

Big business

In 2014, EU production of pesticides amounted to 12 billion euros. Net exports to third countries were worth 3 billion euros, leaving 9 billion euros for consumption in the internal market, according to EUIPO.

In the same year, there were about 25,300 people employed in the pesticides manufacturing industry across the European Union.

The largest producer of pesticides in the bloc is Germany (4 billion euros), followed by France. The two nations are also the major exporters with a trade balance of 1.7 billion euros in the case of Germany and 1.7 billion euros in France.

hg/jd (dpa, AFP)