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

Report Overview

The global agricultural adjuvants market size was valued at USD 3.64 billion in 2022 and is anticipated to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.7% from 2023 to 2030. The industry growth can be attributed to factors such as a 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 the crop and enhancing crop yield and production. Pesticide consumption is also expected to drive the market, 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 demand for agricultural adjuvants. However, different regulations regarding product usage by various authorities around the world may hinder market growth.

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, 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 U.S. Moreover, some of the key manufacturers have a strong presence in the U.S., making a significant impact on the market growth in the country as it decreases the country’s dependency on other regions 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 Insights

The activator adjuvants segment dominated the industry in 2022 and accounted for the maximum share of 70.4% of the overall revenue. 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 estimated to witness significant growth over the forecast period. The segment 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 Insights

Herbicides in the application segment dominated the global industry in 2022 and accounted for the maximum share of 48.7% of the overall revenue. The growth is attributed to the widespread use of herbicides, such as glyphosate and glufosinate, in crop production around the world. Insecticides is another segment expected to witness lucrative 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 demand for the product for various crops, such as cotton, paddy (rice crop), fruits, and vegetable. 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 insecticides market. This, in turn, is expected to propel the demand for agricultural adjuvants.

Source Insights

On the basis of sources, the global industry has been further bifurcated into petroleum-based sources and bio-based sources. The petroleum-based source segment dominated the global industry in 2022 and accounted for the maximum share of 63.5% of the overall revenue. The segment is projected to expand further at a steady CAGR maintaining its market position throughout the forecast period. Bio-based sources 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 also expected to have significant growth during the forecast period. Bio-based sources are made from renewable and environmentally friendly raw materials. They have more biodegradability and offer a higher safety level than petroleum-based products.

Formulation Insights

On the basis of formulations, the global industry has been further sub-segmented into oil-based formulations and others. The others segment dominated the global market in 2022 and accounted for the maximum share of 78.6% of the overall revenue. The segment is projected to expand further at a steady CAGR maintaining its market position throughout the forecast period. 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 expected to witness considerable growth over the forecast period. Oil-based formulations are further classified as crop oil concentrates, crop oils, and vegetable oil concentrates. Oil-based formulations enable slow drying of crop protection products applied to plants, which results in their improved absorption by the plants. This makes oil-based formulations highly effective in improving plant yield, which drives segment growth.

Type By Crop Insights

On the basis of formulations, the global industry has been further bifurcated into organic and conventional. The conventional crops segment dominated the global industry in 2022 and accounted for the maximum share of 65.4% of the overall revenue. The segment is estimated to expand further at a steady growth rate maintaining its leading position throughout the forecast period. The segment 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, which help improve the physical properties of pesticide & herbicide sprays for their even distribution on plants and their increased absorption by plants. The organic crops segment is projected 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 have significant growth over the forecasted period. Crop production in some 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 yields and production efficiency as a result of the rising population and shrinking farmland. These factors are driving the market in the region.

Key Companies & Market Share Insights

The industry is highly competitive with the presence of a large number of independent small- 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 Report Segmentation

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