Hydroponics Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Type (Aggregate Systems, Liquid Systems), By Crops (Tomatoes, Lettuce, Peppers, Cucumbers, Herbs), By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2021 - 2028

Report Overview

The global hydroponics market size was valued at USD 2.1 billion in 2020. It is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20.7% from 2021 to 2028. This high growth rate is attributed to the increasing use of hydroponic systems for the indoor farming of vegetables. Also, the adoption of alternative farming methods for cannabis cultivation is rapidly rising, owing to the legalization of marijuana in countries like Canada, the Czech Republic, South Africa, and others. Increasing awareness among consumers regarding the effects of pesticides and artificial ripening agents on their health is expected to drive the demand for hydroponics, as the method eliminates the need for such products, thereby providing nutritionally superior vegetables. Low installation cost and ease of operation of these systems are also expected to boost the adoption in near future.

Hydroponic farming is a method of growing plants without soil, where the soil is replaced by a mineral solution inserted around the plant roots. Herein, the plant roots are submerged under the chemical solution and checked periodically to ensure that appropriate chemical composition is maintained for growth. As such, the hydroponics method removes the risk of diseases that are caused by soil organisms. Additionally, the hydroponically grown plants produce a higher yield than similar plants grown in soil because of proper control over the nutrients.

The rising population is increasing the demand for food across the world. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN), the world population is expected to reach up to 9.1 billion by 2050, for which food production is expected to increase from between 25% to 70%. This is anticipated to drive the demand for alternative farming technologies that give high yields in less time. The regions, such as the Asia Pacific and Europe, where the arable land and water are becoming scarce, are witnessing the increasing adoption of alternative high-yield farming technologies, which in turn is expected to boost the market growth.

Advancements in climate control, nutrient film techniques, and sensing technologies among others are expected to bode well for market growth in the near future. Hydroponics farming solution providers offer consumers various ways to monitor and manage their crops with numerous sensors, web platforms, software, and mobile applications. For instance, the company SmartBee Technology, Inc. offers irrigation controls, water, and nutrient sensors, environmental sensors, as well as software that provides real-time control to the farmers. The advanced approach of using IoT is enabling automatic and remote data collection and monitoring. Owing to such technological advancements in hydroponics solutions, the market is expected to grow at a significant pace from 2021 to 2028.

Crops Insights

In terms of volume, the tomatoes segment dominated the market with a share of more than 40% of the total market share in 2020. Tomatoes are the largest hydroponically cultivated crops across the globe owing to the faster cultivation rate and as it requires very less amount of water compared to regular farmed tomatoes. The indoor farmers use rock wool, perlite, or coconut coir as growing materials for tomato hydroponic cultivation. Europe and Asia Pacific regions are estimated to cultivate the most substantial amount of tomatoes through the hydroponic method by 2028.

Leafy vegetables, such as spinach, arugula, kale, and lettuce are increasingly gaining popularity among hydroponic growers. Among these, green and red leaf lettuce is the largest hydroponically grown vegetable among indoor farmers owing to its raw consumption in relatively large quantities. The hydroponic cultivation of lettuce is rising in North America on account of its rising demand from households and fast-food chains across the region. The global market size for lettuce is estimated to register the fastest CAGR of more than 23% over the forecast period.

Type Insights

The aggregate systems held the largest market share of approximately 55% in 2020 owing to its widespread popularity among all the indoor hydroponic farmers owing to its ease of setup and inexpensiveness. In such systems, inert and solid media such as peat, rock wool, vermiculite, sand, sawdust, perlite, or coconut coir provides support for the plants. The primary technologies in aggregate systems include drip systems, ebb and flow systems, and wick systems. Out of these, the ebb and flow is the most common mode of an aggregate system that is preferred as it is easy and economically cheap to build.

The liquid systems segment is estimated to expand at the fastest CAGR from 2021 to 2028, owing to the increasing popularity of closed system cultivation among growers. Deepwater culture and Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) systems are being increasingly used to cultivate lettuce and other leafy vegetables. Liquid systems eliminate the use of a solid medium, and the roots are directly submerged in the nutrient solution, therefore, making the cultivation process easier. Moreover, as the nutrients are directly provided to the roots of a plant, liquid systems expedite the growth, thereby giving maximum yields. While the soilless farming methods mitigate the risk of soil-borne diseases, the risk of dispersal of pathogens increases by recirculating nutrient solutions in the closed systems. Thus, to avoid this, liquid systems require frequent maintenance for monitoring and changing nutrient solutions.

Regional Insights

Asia Pacific dominated the hydroponics market with a share of 37% in 2020 owing to the substantial adoption of hydroponics in China, Australia, South Korea, and other such countries. The market in China and India is expected to escalate significantly over the forecast period owing to the emerging urban hydroponic farms. North America holds a high potential for growth on account of numerous companies located in the region, as well as owing to the growing adoption of alternative farming techniques in urban areas. Some of the prominent market players in North America include AeroFarms (U.S.), AMHYDRO (U.S.), Argus Control Systems Limited (Canada), and LumiGrow (U.S.).

Europe held the second-largest market share in 2020, owing to the high adoption of hydroponics driven by rapid industrialization and scarcity of land. Europe is home to developed economies, such as France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands. On account of the growing expansion of genetically modified crop technology, the region is also anticipated to witness a substantial CAGR over the forecast period. However, the lack of government incentives and the unavailability of essential equipment to set up large hydroponic farms is expected to hinder the growth in developing countries from the Middle East, Africa, and South America.

Key Companies & Market Share Insights

A few of the major industry players include AeroFarms (U.S.), Illumitex, Inc. (U.S.), and American Hydroponics (U.S.). These players are involved in strategies such as partnerships, business expansions, new product developments, and contracts to expand their market share. The companies are focusing on building greenhouses and expanding hydroponic farms to meet the end-market requirements. For instance, In April 2021, AeroFarms announced the commencement of the construction of its second commercial 136,000 square foot indoor vertical farm in Danville-Pittsylvania County, Virginia. Danville Farm is strategically located close to more than 1,000 grocery stores in the area, serving approximately 50 million people in a day's drive. Similarly, Numerous vendors are investing in research and development activities to develop differentiated products that help them stay ahead of the competition. For instance, in 2020, Signify Holding, a Netherland-based company, invested 4.8% of its revenue in research & development. This investment is expected to help the company in enhancing its product offerings. Some of the prominent players operating in the global hydroponics market are:

• AeroFarms

• AmHydro

• Argus Control Systems Ltd.

• Emirates Hydroponics Farms

• Freight Farms

• Green Sense Farms Holdings, Inc.

• Heliospectra AB

• LumiGrow

• Signify Holding

• Terra Tech Corp.

Hydroponics Market Report Scope

Segments Covered in the Report

This report forecasts revenue growth at global, regional, and country levels and provides an analysis of the latest industry trends and opportunities in each of the sub-segments from 2017 to 2028. For this study, Grand View Research has segmented the global hydroponics market report based on type, crops, and region:

• Type Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2028)

  • Aggregate Systems

  • Liquid Systems

• Crops Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2028)

  • Tomatoes

  • Lettuce

  • Peppers

  • Cucumbers

  • Herbs

  • Others

• Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2028)

  • North America

    • U.S.

    • Canada

    • Mexico

  • Europe

    • Germany

    • U.K.

    • France

  • Asia Pacific

    • China

    • India

    • Japan

  • Rest of World