41st Annual Meeting of the Society for Invertebrate Pathology
and 9th International Conference on Bacillus thuringiensis

Advancement made since 1995 in science and in the development of realistic marketing and sales strategies increased growers acceptance for microbial control products. The lesson learned from earlier problems have encouraged leading companies to improve cost efficiency of their technologies and adopt better product positioning within the confines of product capabilities. To sustain profitable business, in depth planning to enhance product sales is needed through IPM programs, new formulations, new delivery systems, reliable quality control and training programs. The market for microbial insecticides is approximately US$268 million, which represents approximately 1.5% of the total crop protection insecticide market, and most of this is due to sales of Bt products (US$160 million). However, the market potential for the microbial insecticides will likely increase in the next few years due to the following: An increase in the awareness of the growers, distributors and farm advisors about the benefits and the flexibility of including microbial insecticides in IPM programs. The producers of microbial insecticides are positioning their products as partners and not as alternatives to chemical insecticides. The demand of the regulatory agencies and the general public for safer produce and for products with no detrimental effect to the environment. High probabilities of insect resistance developing against reduced-risk insecticides.