Summary of Significant Accounting Policies	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2020
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies	1. The accompanying unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements of American Vanguard Corporation and Subsidiaries (“AVD” or “the Company”) have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“US GAAP”) for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring accruals) considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included. Operating results for the three- and nine-months ended September 30, 2020 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2020. The financial statements and related notes do not include all information and footnotes required by US GAAP for annual reports. This quarterly report should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements included in the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019. The Company is closely monitoring the impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on all aspects of its business, including how the pandemic has impacted, and will likely impact, its customers, business partners, and employees. The Company is considered an essential business by most governments in the jurisdictions and territories in which the Company operates and, as a result, did not incur significant disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic during the three- and nine-months ended September 30, 2020. At this point in the year, however, the Company can identify a number of effects on its overall performance as a result of the coronavirus. While none of them alone is material, taken together, they would constitute several million dollars in lost sales opportunities and an indeterminate level of profitability. First, while the Company has recorded strong sales of new products, particularly soybean and rice herbicides, the Company believes that those sales would likely have been higher but for the fact that the Company was constrained from holding in-person meetings with existing and potential new customers to promote those products. Second, demand for certain commodities – specifically, corn, potatoes and fruits and vegetables – have experienced a drop from restaurants that have been closed (in whole or in part) due to the coronavirus. This, in turn, has softened demand for some of the Company’s products that are used on those crops and could affect future contracts. Third, local currencies in Brazil, Mexico and Australia suffered a significant decline in value versus the US dollar during the first quarter of the year, which, in turn, has affected both sales and to a lesser extent profitability of our international business. These key currencies (from the Company’s perspective) have somewhat stabilized at new lower levels during the second and third quarter of the year. We do not know what movements in key rates to expect for the balance of 2020 and beyond. Further, while it is not possible to identify all of the reasons for the fluctuation in exchange rates with certainty, it is not unreasonable to include the pandemic among its causes. Looking forward, the Company is unable to predict the impact that the pandemic may have on its future financial condition, results of operations and cash flows due to numerous uncertainties. The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic impacts the Company’s operations and those of its customers in the near term will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and, beyond extrapolating our experience over the past nine-months, cannot be predicted with confidence. The Company continues to monitor its business for adverse impacts of the pandemic, including volatility in the foreign exchange markets, demand, supply-chain disruptions in certain markets, and increased costs of employee safety, among others. Update to Significant Accounting Policies: On January 1, 2020, the Company adopted Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2016-13, “Financial Instruments – Credit Losses (Topic 326)”, along with related clarifications and improvements. As a result, we updated our significant accounting policies for the measurement of credit losses below. Refer to Note 15 “Recent Accounting Standards” for further information related to the Company's adoption of this standard. Allowance for Credit Losses – The Company maintains an allowance to cover its Current Expected Credit Losses ("CECL") on its trade receivables, other receivables and contract assets arising from the failure of customers to make contractual payments. The Company estimates credit losses expected over the life of its trade receivables and contract assets based on historical information combined with current conditions that may affect a customer’s ability to pay and reasonable and supportable forecasts. The vast majority of the Company's trade receivables are less than 365 days. Under the CECL impairment model, the Company develops and documents its allowance for credit losses on its trade receivables based on multiple portfolios. The determination of portfolios are based primarily on geographical location, type of customer and aging.

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2020

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

1. The accompanying unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements of American Vanguard Corporation and Subsidiaries (“AVD” or “the Company”) have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“US GAAP”) for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring accruals) considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included. Operating results for the three- and nine-months ended September 30, 2020 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2020. The financial statements and related notes do not include all information and footnotes required by US GAAP for annual reports. This quarterly report should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements included in the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019.

The Company is closely monitoring the impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on all aspects of its business, including how the pandemic has impacted, and will likely impact, its customers, business partners, and employees. The Company is considered an essential business by most governments in the jurisdictions and territories in which the Company operates and, as a result, did not incur significant disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic during the three- and nine-months ended September 30, 2020. At this point in the year, however, the Company can identify a number of effects on its overall performance as a result of the coronavirus. While none of them alone is material, taken together, they would constitute several million dollars in lost sales opportunities and an indeterminate level of profitability. First, while the Company has recorded strong sales of new products, particularly soybean and rice herbicides, the Company believes that those sales would likely have been higher but for the fact that the Company was constrained from holding in-person meetings with existing and potential new customers to promote those products. Second, demand for certain commodities – specifically, corn, potatoes and fruits and vegetables – have experienced a drop from restaurants that have been closed (in whole or in part) due to the coronavirus. This, in turn, has softened demand for some of the Company’s products that are used on those crops and could affect future contracts. Third, local currencies in Brazil, Mexico and Australia suffered a significant decline in value versus the US dollar during the first quarter of the year, which, in turn, has affected both sales and to a lesser extent profitability of our international business. These key currencies (from the Company’s perspective) have somewhat stabilized at new lower levels during the second and third quarter of the year. We do not know what movements in key rates to expect for the balance of 2020 and beyond. Further, while it is not possible to identify all of the reasons for the fluctuation in exchange rates with certainty, it is not unreasonable to include the pandemic among its causes.

Looking forward, the Company is unable to predict the impact that the pandemic may have on its future financial condition, results of operations and cash flows due to numerous uncertainties. The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic impacts the Company’s operations and those of its customers in the near term will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and, beyond extrapolating our experience over the past nine-months, cannot be predicted with confidence. The Company continues to monitor its business for adverse impacts of the pandemic, including volatility in the foreign exchange markets, demand, supply-chain disruptions in certain markets, and increased costs of employee safety, among others.

Update to Significant Accounting Policies:

On January 1, 2020, the Company adopted Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2016-13, “Financial Instruments – Credit Losses (Topic 326)”, along with related clarifications and improvements. As a result, we updated our significant accounting policies for the measurement of credit losses below. Refer to Note 15 “Recent Accounting Standards” for further information related to the Company's adoption of this standard.

Allowance for Credit Losses – The Company maintains an allowance to cover its Current Expected Credit Losses ("CECL") on its trade receivables, other receivables and contract assets arising from the failure of customers to make contractual payments. The Company estimates credit losses expected over the life of its trade receivables and contract assets based on historical information combined with current conditions that may affect a customer’s ability to pay and reasonable and supportable forecasts. The vast majority of the Company's trade receivables are less than 365 days.

Under the CECL impairment model, the Company develops and documents its allowance for credit losses on its trade receivables based on multiple portfolios. The determination of portfolios are based primarily on geographical location, type of customer and aging.