EN
The world market for biological control agents has gradually expanded from around 2.5% of the global pesticide market in 2005 to 4.2% estimated for the year 2010. In the field of biological plant protection Europe showed to be the most dynamic region with around 15% annual growth. A significant change has been observed in the share of particular groups of biocontrol agents in the market. The proportion of microbial biopesticides is declining when compared to the commercial use of macrobials. That change can be partially caused by restrictive EC regulation of registration requirements for microbial biocontrol agents. The cost and length of the registration procedure seems to detract producers and investors from further development of that group. On the other hand, the lack or only limited registration requirements applied to macrobial agents raise the question of their environmental safety, as many exotic organisms could be introduced to Europe with no satisfactory prior examination of their impact on the environment. Therefore, a good balance between the human and environmental safety and registration requirements should be maintained, if further dynamic development of the biocontrol agent market is expected.