ABSTRACT
Dur ing the 1970s the herbicide market became more competitive due to the discov ery of a greater number of herbicides than in the 1960s and the price of oil and petroleum products registered a several-fold increase. As a result, the time required to develop a successful product ranged from 8 to 10 yr or even longer and the cost of inputs for developing it varied from US $10 to 15 mi l l ion . In the 1980s and early 1990s, the cost of producing a successful herbicide ranged from US $20-25 mi l l ion . The gov ernmental clearance requirements in view of the strict crop, human and environmental safety regulations have also increased the time period and developmental costs. In India, where the cost of manpower is relatively lower, the developmental cost per successful compound would be far lower than that in the USA, Europe and other developed countries where most of the herbicides are discovered and developed at present.
