Herbicides Sales to Rise Amid Increasing Demand for Crop Protection Chemicals: New Study

February 2021

The contribution of chemical experts towards crop protection is undeniable. As indicated by a study conducted by Fairfield Market Research, the crop protection market is poised to rise at 5.3% CAGR between 2021 and 2025. With global population expected to surpass 9.8 billion by 2025, the pressure is increasing on arable land, which is already on decline. The need for mitigating this concern, coupled with the rising demand for better yield, is expected to fuel the demand for food security, subsequently, crop protection material.

The issue of declining arable land already is incumbent on developing economies, who are looking for economical ways of improving crop quality. Thanks to favorable regulations and conducive environment for growth, the crop protection chemicals market is exhibiting impressive growth. The report offers insights into key factors enabling growth across various regions.

Key Insights into Crop Protection Chemicals Market:

• Driven by the rising demand for improved crop yield, the crop protection chemicals market is forecast to surpass US$ 83.5 Bn by 2025
• Herbicides to lead with a healthy growth rate of 5.5% in terms of value between 2021 and 2025
• In value terms, fungicides and bactericides to exhibit fastest growth of 5.2% between 2021 and 2025
• In 2018, Latin America surpassed Asia Pacific as the largest consumer of crop protection chemicals and is expected to grow with 6.3% CAGR between 2021 and 2025.

Crop Protection Chemicals Sales Surging Despite Pandemic

Agro chemical companies around the world had contemplated an uneventful 2020, instead the first half of the year proved quite eventful with supply chain disruptions caused amid COVID-19 outbreak. Besides uncertainty injected by trade issues, shift in consumer preference had considerable impact. Agriculture however fared better than most industries, despite the pandemic.

While the demand for agriculture remained roughly flat since the past couple of years, the COVID-19 outbreak stirred the historic projection amid changes in consumer demand and ongoing economic challenges. In countries such as India, the government has asked the agro-chemicals industry to innovate novel molecules of global standard for the farmers’ benefits. This will offer attractive opportunities to innovate thus enabling growth in the market.

Latin America to Exhibit Accelerated Growth

The demand for crop protection is expected to remain considerably high in both Asia Pacific and Latin America. Of these, Latin America is expected to register growth at an accelerated pace over the course of the report’s forecast period. The adoption of latest technologies to improve yield in countries such as Brazil and Argentina, will continue pushing demand in the region.

Asia Pacific also has shown rapid growth. Crop protection sales in the region are expected to gain impetus from favorable government policies. However, restructuring of crop protection chemicals market in China could derail growth of pesticides consumption to an extent.

Companies Eye for Strategic Collaborations

Companies operating in the market have been focusing on strategic collaborations. For instance, in 2019 Bayer Cropscience AG partnered with AlphaBio Control for the distribution of an innovative pest control product called Flipper.

Other companies are focusing on product launches. For instance, in 2019 Syngenta Canada Inc. launched a fungicide called Orondis Gold Potato for Pythium leak control and pink rot in Canada. Efforts such as these are expected to bode well for the market.

According to Fairfield Market Research, top 6 players in the market Bayer Crop Science, Syngenta, FMC, Corteva (DowDuPont), and ADAMA hold more than half of the total crop protection chemicals market in 2018.