| General: |
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The World Economic Forum in 2003 estimated the cost of counterfeit and piracy at 450 billion euros annually.(1)
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The seizure of 103 million counterfeit and pirated goods represents an increase of more than 12% compared to 2003 and almost 1000% compared to 1998. (2)
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The number of customs operations involving fakes more than doubled to 22,000 by comparison with 2003. (ibid)
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Breakdown of the number of articles seized by origin of goods, expressed as % - (EU) 2004
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| China |
54%
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| Taiwan |
7,5%
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| India |
3,5%
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| Hong Kong |
3%
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| United Arab Emirates |
3%
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| Gambia |
2,5%
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| Romania |
2%
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| Others |
24,5%
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| Source: EUROPA |
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| Agri-Chemicals: |
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According to the European Crop Protection Authority (EPCA), as many as 1 in 20 pesticides sold in the EU may be fake and harmful to human health. The illegal trade in counterfeit pesticides costs 20 million pounds a year in lost taxes. (3) |
| Cigarettes: |
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Customs seized more than 41 million packets of counterfeit cigarettes in 2004, an increase of more than 25% over 2003.(4)
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| Cosmetics: |
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In 2006, a total of 1,582,600 counterfeit cosmetics and personal care products were seized at EU borders—an increase of 128 %. China was the main source of the fake products, accounting for 37 % of the total; followed by Indonesia (19 %), Ukraine (16 %), UAE (10 %), and Turkey (4 %). Other countries accounted for 14 %. (5) |
| Food and Beverage: |
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The 4.5 million foodstuffs intercepted by European Customs in 2004 represented an increase of over 200% compared to the 2003 figure of 1.5 million.(6)
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According to the European Commission, from 2002 to 2003 seizures of counterfeit food products entering the EU increased by 77 %. (7) |
| Micellaneous: |
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Seizures of miscellaneous products such as ink cartridges grew by more than 900% compared to 2003. (8)
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| Pharmaceuticals: |
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In 2005 there were five hundred thousand fake medicines discovered - in 2006 that figure shot up to 2.5 million. (9)
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| Software: |
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| Toys: |
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Toys and games seizures amounted to more than 18 million objects, 47% more than the seizures in 2003. (10)
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