# Insecticides

Chemicals that kill crop pests: neonicotinoids, pyrethroids, diamides and organophosphates; India's largest agrochemical class and a key export.

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/insecticides/

Fine chemicals · Crop protection · No. 99

- Product family
- Feedstock: Oil, gas or coal
- about 0.6-0.8 Mt of active ingredient a year (indicative, basis: about a fifth of world pesticide use of about 3.7 Mt a.i. in 2022, FAOSTAT)
- HS 380891
 Fine chemicals · Crop protection · Foundation · Matter

As fall armyworm spread from the Americas to Africa, India and China, farmers sprayed insecticides, half of them made in China.

Chart: Illustration: Insecticides

##### Where it comes from

Chart: Map of where it comes from

Benzene, pyridine, chlorine and phosphorus are built into intermediates such as CCMP; about 0.65 t of CCMP goes into a tonne of imidacloprid.

##### Three things to know

1. Fruit and vegetables take about 30% of insecticide spending because high-value crops justify frequent sprays.
2. The EU banned outdoor use of three neonicotinoids in 2018 and did not renew chlorpyrifos in 2020.
3. Diamides like chlorantraniliprole need about 8-10 synthesis steps, and their prices fell as patents expired.

##### The journey

1. 1 **Base chemicals**Benzene, toluene, pyridine, chlorine, phosphorus
2. 2 **Key intermediates**CCMP for neonicotinoids, pyrethroid acid chlorides
3. 3 **Technical synthesis**Multistep batch chemistry to 95-98% purity
4. 4 **Formulation**Emulsions, suspensions, granules and sachets
5. 5 **Crop protection**Sprayed on fruit, vegetables, soybeans, rice
 Covered in [The chemical industry: what it makes and how it is organisedChemicals](https://www.materialinsights.org/learn/chemicals/chem-industry-map/)[Soaps, detergents and agrochemicalsChemicals](https://www.materialinsights.org/learn/chemicals/soaps-detergents-agrochemicals/)

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## Other sections

- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/insecticides/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/insecticides/correlation/index.md)
- [Production route](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/insecticides/routes/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/insecticides/production/index.md)
- [Feedstocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/insecticides/feedstocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/insecticides/cycles/index.md)
- [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/insecticides/trading/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/insecticides/movement/index.md)
- [Regulation](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/insecticides/regulation/index.md)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/insecticides/characteristics/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/insecticides/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/insecticides/links/index.md)