The global crop protection market consists of crop protection chemicals or agrochemicals, seeds, and genetically modified (GM) crops. Crop protection chemicals are the most dominating segment of this market in terms of market share as well as product innovations. Crop protection chemicals are further classified as herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, bio-pesticides, and adjuvants. As the latter two segments hold a minor market share, in general practice, pesticides are referred to as crop protection chemicals.
Bio-based pesticides, as the name suggests are made up of renewable resources and contain no synthetic active ingredients. These pesticides have a much more positive impact on the environment than their synthetic counterparts and are expected to be one of the fastest growing pesticide segments in the near future. Synthetic pesticides, which are typically manufactured from petrochemical or inorganic raw materials, are further segmented as insecticides, herbicides and fungicides. Globally, the market is dominated by herbicides, accounting for over 40% of the total pesticide demand in 2011.
Shrinking of arable land in recent years, growing population and an increasing need to improve crop yields are expected to drive the demand for crop protection chemicals in the near future. However, the constant push from regulatory authorities such as EPA (Environment Protection Agency) to restrict the use of pesticides in order to reduce the impact on the environment and growing consumer awareness regarding pesticide consumption, due to residues is expected to hamper the demand for the Market in the next five years.
One of the critical success factors (CSFs) in the market is the ability of a market participant to preserve the intellectual property through patents of its active ingredients and the ability to develop, register and commercialize active ingredients coming off patents. This battle of generic against patented products is expected to be a key issue in the crop protection industry in the next five years.
The global market, in terms of active ingredient volume was estimated at 2,075.5 metric tons in 2011 and is expected to reach 3,136.1 metric tons by 2018, growing at a CAGR of 3.2% from 2013 to 2018.
This report estimates the market size of the global market both in terms of active ingredient volume as well as revenue. The market has been further segmented on the basis of crop types such as cereals, grains, oilseeds, and vegetables as well as by sub-segmentation of insecticides, fungicides, and herbicides such as glyphosate, atrazine, and 2,4-D. This segmentation is given for major regions and key countries in those regions. Market drivers, restraints and challenges, raw material, and product price trends are discussed in detail. Market share by participants for the overall market is discussed in detail in the report. We have also profiled leading players of this industry including Bayer CropScience (Germany), BASF (Germany), Monsanto (U.S.), and Dow Agrosciences (U.S.).