Agricultural Adjuvants Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Product, By Application, By Source, By Formulation, By Type by Crop, By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2023 - 2030

Report Overview

The global agricultural adjuvants market size was estimated at USD 3.65 billion in 2022 and is anticipated to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.7 % from 2023 to 2030. The growth of the product market is attributed to the rise in demand for crop protection products in the agricultural field across the globe. Approximately 25% of the world’s crop output is lost every year due to diseases and attacks by pests and weeds. Crop protection chemicals play a vital role in protecting crops and enhancing crop yield and production. Pesticide consumption is also expected to drive market growth, as the majority of adjuvants are used in pesticides.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), global pesticide consumption was 4.2 million tons in 2019, an increase of 11.6% from 2009. Pesticide consumption has increased by 436 thousand tons over the last decade. Furthermore, according to the FAO, total traded quantities of pesticides increased by around 30% in 2020, with America importing the most pesticides worth USD 6.9 million. Thus, the global increase in pesticide consumption is in turn boosting the demand for agricultural adjuvants. However, the major restraining factors for market growth are different regulations regarding the use of agricultural adjuvants by various authorities around the world.

In Brazil, for example, until 2017, adjuvant regulation was the same as agrichemical regulation (Law 7,802 regulated by Decree 4,074). After 2017, the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Supply (MAPA) in Brazil undertook the regulation of agricultural adjuvants. In addition, the adjuvants in Canada are regulated by the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA), which ensures each adjuvant is properly tested and proven effective and safe with every active ingredient with which it is to be used. Thus, all these stringent regulations are acting as a restraining factor in the growth of the market. The U.S. is the largest consumer of the product in North America with a revenue share of 69.3% in 2022.

This is attributed to the fact that the U.S. is one of the top ten food-producing countries in the world, with significant production of maize, soybean, sorghum, blueberry, soybean, and almond. This, in turn, fuels the expansion of the market in the country. Moreover, the presence of some of the key product manufacturers in the U.S. makes a significant impact on the market growth in the country. It decreases the dependency of the U.S. on other countries for importing agrochemicals. Farmers and companies operating in the agriculture sector of the U.S. can directly order agrochemicals within their domestic market. Thus, driving the product demand in the country.

Product Insight

The activator adjuvants product segment is expected to dominate the market with a revenue share of 70.4% in 2022. This growth is attributed to the fact that agrochemicals when applied with an activator adjuvant exhibit increased penetration and absorption rates, which helps them offer better control over insects, weeds, or diseases. Activator adjuvants are chemical products that help a crop protection product perform better. Herbicides, for instance, have the ability to enter and kill unwanted plants and weeds; however, when activator adjuvants are added to herbicides, the herbicides enter the weed more readily.

The utility adjuvants segment is also expected to witness rapid growth over the forecast period. This growth is attributed to the increasing use of pesticides to limit the growth of various unwanted things in the cropland. There are various types of utility adjuvants based on their application. The utility adjuvants segment includes compatibility agents, buffering agents, drift control agents, water conditioning agents, defoaming agents, deposition agents, and acidifying agents. Utility adjuvants are majorly non-pesticide product adjuvants that are tank-mixed in the spray solution. Among the utility adjuvants, compatibility agents are extensively used in the formulation of crop protection products.

Application Insight

The herbicides application segment is anticipated to dominate the global market with a revenue share of 48.7% in 2022. The growth is attributed to the widespread use of herbicides, such as glyphosate and glufosinate, in crop production around the world. The insecticides segment is expected to witness the fastest growth over the forecast period. According to the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), insecticides account for the largest market share in the Indian agrochemical market. This growth can be attributed to the increasing product demand for various crops, such as cotton, paddy (rice crop), fruits, and vegetables.

They are found effective in preventing early germination pest attacks in various crops. Malathion is a commonly known organophosphate (OP) insecticide. It is mostly used in the agricultural sector for a wide variety of food and crops to control various types of insects, such as Japanese beetles, aphids, and leafhoppers. Globally, the increasing focus on the prevention of pest attacks on crops is driving the insecticide market growth, which, in turn, is expected to propel the product demand.

Source Insight

On the basis of source, the global industry has been further categorized into petroleum-based and bio-based. The petroleum-based source segment dominated the global market in 2022 and accounted for the highest share of 63.5% of the overall revenue. These majorly include oil-based adjuvants. Common examples of these adjuvants are crop oils and crop oil concentrates. Crop oils have 95%–98% naphtha or paraffin-based petroleum oil and 1%–2% surfactants.

Crop oil concentrates are made of 80%–85% petroleum-based oil and 15%–20% nonionic surfactants. The bio-based source segment is expected to witness the fastest growth rate over the forecast period. These are the ones made from renewable and environmentally friendly raw materials. They have more biodegradability and offer a higher safety level to humans than their petroleum-based counterparts.

Formulation Insight

On the basis of formulation, the global industry has been further categorized into oil-based and other formulations. The other formulations segment dominated the global market in 2022 and accounted for the highest share of 78.6% of the overall revenue. It includes surfactants and spray adjuvants. They enhance the performance of herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, fertilizers, etc. by increasing their surface contact, improving their leaf penetration, and reducing their runoff.

The oil-based formulations segment is projected to register a significant growth rate during the forecast period. Oil-based formulations can be further classified into crop oil concentrates, crop oils, and vegetable oil concentrates. They enable slow drying of crop protection products applied to plants, resulting in their improved absorption by plants, thereby making them highly effective in improving the yield of plants.

Type by Crop Insight

On the basis of type by crop, the global industry has been further categorized into conventional crops and organic crops. The conventional crops segment dominated the global market in 2022 and accounted for the maximum share of 65.4% of the overall revenue. It includes additives used with insecticides, pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides to make them highly effective. They are either surfactants and polymers or chemical and petroleum-based additives.

They help improve the physical properties of pesticide and herbicide sprays for their even distribution on plants and their increased absorption by them. The organic crops segment is estimated to register the fastest growth rate during the forecast period. Oils are used for a wide range of applications in organic agriculture. Farmers use vegetable oils, such as soybean, sunflower, and rapeseed oil, as organic adjuvants with pesticides and fertilizers for adding hydrophobic material to them.

Regional Insights

Asia Pacific emerged as the dominating region with a revenue share of 37.6% in 2022. This growth is attributed to the fact that Asia Pacific is the largest producer of agricultural commodities, accounting for 53% of global agricultural product and fish output by 2030 according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and FAO. China emerged as the major consumer of the product in the Asia Pacific region. This is due to the fact that the country is one of the major exporters, consumers, and producers of pesticides globally, which is a major application of the product market. In addition, according to the University of Melbourne and Baojing Gu, a Zhejiang-based researcher, China is the world's largest agricultural pesticide consumer. It consumes approximately 30% of global pesticides and fertilizers and meets around 90% of global technical raw material requirements.

Europe will also witness significant growth over the forecasted period. Crop production in some of the countries has been declining in recent years. However, some European countries have shown positive growth in the production of a few crops. For example, according to a USDA report published in November 2021, total wheat production in Russia was 74.5 million metric tons, indicating an increase in the country's wheat production. The market is primarily driven by the growing need to improve crop yield and production efficiency as a result of the rising population and shrinking farmland. Thus, the region's increasing agricultural production and shrinking farming land are driving demand for crop protection chemicals, which, in turn, is driving the product demand.

Key Companies & Market Share Insights

The market is highly competitive with the presence of a large number of independent small-scale and large-scale manufacturers and suppliers. While large-scale companies concentrate on innovation and product development, small-scale players primarily compete based on price. Players are entering into mergers and partnerships to establish their position in the market. For instance, BASF acquired a range of businesses and assets from Bayer, a crop protection and agricultural products manufacturer.

This acquisition has enhanced BASF’s existing crop protection product line. Moreover, this acquisition has enabled the company to enter the seeds, nematicide seed treatments, and non-selective herbicides business. In 2020 Stepan Company acquired BASF’s anionic surfactants plant in Ecatepec, Mexico. These anionic surfactants are used as an activator adjuvant in agricultural products and are also used in oilfields and industrial cleaning applications. Some of the prominent players in the global agricultural adjuvants market include:

• Clariant AG

• Solvay SA

• The Dow Chemical Company

• Huntsman International LLC

• Evonik Industries AG

• Ingevity

• Nufarm Limited

• Corteva Agriscience

• Croda International PLC

• BASF SE

• Miller Chemical & Fertilizer, LLC.

• Helena Chemical Company

• Winfield United

• Wilbur-Ellis Holdings, Inc.

• Stepan Company

Agricultural Adjuvants Market Report Scope

Global Agricultural Adjuvants Market Segmentation

This report forecasts revenue growth at global, regional, and country levels and provides an analysis of the latest trends in each of the sub-segments from 2018 to 2030. For this study, Grand View Research has segmented the global agricultural adjuvants market report on the basis of product, application, source, formulation, type by crops, and region:

• Product Outlook (Volume, Tons; Revenue, USD Million, 2018 - 2030)

  • Activator Adjuvants

    • Surfactants

    • Oil-based Adjuvants

  • Utility Adjuvants

    • Compatibility Agents

    • Drift Control Agents

    • Buffering Agents

    • Water Conditioning Agents

    • Others

• Application Outlook (Volume, Tons; Revenue, USD Million, 2018 - 2030)

  • Herbicides

  • Insecticides

  • Fungicides

  • Others

• Source Outlook (Volume, Tons; Revenue, USD Million, 2018 - 2030)

  • Petroleum-based

  • Bio-based

• Formulation Outlook (Volume, Tons; Revenue, USD Million, 2018 - 2030)

  • Oil-based

  • Others

• Type By Crops Outlook (Volume, Tons; Revenue, USD Million, 2018 - 2030)

  • Organic

    • Cereals & Grains

    • Oilseeds & Pulses

    • Fruits & Vegetables

    • Others

  • Conventional

    • Cereals & Grains

    • Oilseeds & Pulses

    • Fruits & Vegetables

    • Others

• Regional Outlook (Volume, Tons; Revenue, USD Million, 2018 - 2030)

  • North America

    • U.S.

    • Canada

    • Mexico

  • Europe

    • Germany

    • U.K.

    • France

    • Italy

  • Asia Pacific

    • China

    • India

    • Japan

    • Australia

  • Central & South America

    • Brazil

    • Argentina

    • Colombia

  • Middle East & Africa

    • South Africa

    • Saudi Arabia

    • UAE