Economic Effects of Banning Soil Fumigants

Producers who formerly used fumigants to control soil-borne pests would be worse off by $100-$200 million per year, despite higher prices, if soil fumigants were banned for citrus fruit, potatoes, tomatoes, tobacco, and a few other crops, because crop output would decline sharply. Producers who did not use fumigants would be better off by $480-$800 million per year because of higher product prices received. Consumers would pay $3.0-$5.1 billion more annually in the short run. Average annual consumer prices would rise 53 percent for fresh tomatoes, 11 percent for potatoes, a percent for canned tomatoes, and 4 percent for cigarettes. Loss of fumigants would have no effect on prices of cotton products, citrus fruit, or frozen juice. This report estimates the economic effects on producers and consumers of certain crops if the use of all soil fumigants were lost because of EPA cancellation, suspension, or manufacturer withdrawal