The increasing global population is a major driving factor behind growth in the crop protection chemicals market.
A new report from Research and Markets predicts that the worldwide market for insecticides, fungicides, herbicides and biopesticides will grow at a compound annual rate of 4.71 percent over the period 2014-2019.
By 2050, the world’s population is predicted to exceed 9 billion. Over the coming decades, population growth will reduce arable land while increasing demand for food, the report says.
What’s more, disposable incomes in developing countries such as China and India are rising, resulting in an increase in per capita consumption of agricultural products as consumers buy more grain-intensive animal protein and dairy products.
Other factors likely to drive demand for agricultural production include government policies to address food security concerns and increased demand for biofuel. At the same time, soil erosion and land pollution are further reducing the size of arable land per person.
As a result, farmers are under pressure to increase yields and this, in turn, is increasing the demand for agrochemicals, which help enhance the yield and quality of crops. Pesticides help in controlling the pests that feed on crops and soil nutrients, Research and Markets noted.
Despite the benefits, however, the growth of the global crop protection market is restricted by regulatory bans on certain pesticides.
Moreover, rising awareness about pesticide residues in food has led more consumers to choose organic food and in recent years organic farming has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry.
BASF, Bayer CropScience, Dow AgroSciences, Monsanto and Syngenta are the key players in the global crop protection market, according to the report.
Other prominent vendors include ADAMA Agricultural Solutions, Agrium, Arysta LifeScience, DuPont, FMC, Novozymes, Nufarm, Sumitomo Chemical and Valent BioSciences.
