Insecticides: Movement

Why insecticides travel as dangerous goods to Brazil and the US

What this tab covers How it moves between countries: share of output traded, physical form and transport, the largest exporters and importers, main routes, India's trade, and handling rules in transit.

Trade in 2024 UN Comtrade, HS 380891

World exports $10.7 bn 121 reporting exporters · about 1.17 m t Largest exporter China 21% of world exports Largest importer Brazil 14.5% of world imports India imports $581.7 m
exports $1.40 bn #2 importer · #3 exporter

Where it is exported from and imported to, 2024

Chart: World map of the largest trade flows

Exporter (size = share of world exports) Importer (share of world imports) Shipping chokepoint UN Comtrade 2024, HS 380891: shares of reported world exports and imports by value. Country-to-country route lines are not available for this commodity yet. Hover a circle for values.

HS 380891: largest exporters

Country	Share	Value (US$)	Tonnes
China	21%	$2.23 bn	551k
United States	14.9%	$1.59 bn	54k
India	13.1%	$1.40 bn	158k
Germany	6.7%	$708.6 m	21k
France	5.4%	$577.7 m	31k
South Korea	3.6%	$387.9 m	11k
Japan	3.4%	$357.6 m	10k
Singapore	3%	$324.5 m	9,340

HS 380891: largest importers

Country	Share	Value (US$)	Tonnes
Brazil	14.5%	$1.37 bn	122k
India	6.2%	$581.7 m	23k
United States	5%	$472.9 m	42k
France	5%	$469.4 m	27k
Italy	3%	$285.1 m	23k
Canada	2.9%	$276.3 m	15k
Mexico	2.9%	$271.2 m	–
Spain	2.7%	$249.9 m	16k

UN Comtrade 2024, reported by each country (exports by exporters, imports by importers), all partners. Some countries (for example Russia and Iran) do not report, so their shares are missing. HS codes can be broader than the tile: check the code before reading a share as the whole market.

How it moves

Measure	Figure
Share traded	high: probably over half of technical output crosses borders (indicative)
How it moves	Technical powders and liquids in drums and bags by container; formulations in bottles and sachets; all as dangerous goods.
Routes and chokepoints	China and India to Santos and Paranagua (Brazil), US Gulf and East Coast, Southeast Asia and Africa.
India	The US and Brazil were the top destinations for Indian insecticide and fungicide exports for five years; the top five destinations took over 50% (Rubix, Jun 2025). HS 380891: India imported $582 million (6.2% of world imports, rank 2) and exported $1.40 billion (13.1% of world exports, rank 3) (UN Comtrade 2024).
Handling in transit	Most ship as class 6.1 toxic (e.g. UN2783 organophosphorus pesticide solid, UN3018 liquid) or class 9 environmentally hazardous (UN3077, UN3082).