Crop Micronutrients to Be a Catalyst in Fulfilling Growing Food Demand

crop micronutrients market

The Crop Micronutrient Market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 7.89% over the forecasted period to reach a market size of US$9.621 billion in 2027 from the US$5.653 billion in 2020. Micronutrients are essential nutrients which form an important part of the growth and the metabolic activities of plants. Micronutrients attribute to the taste, quality, and colour of crops and help in improving them. These also help in enhancing the efficiency of the fertilizers that are used thus, resulting in the reduction of water use. Micronutrients help in strengthening the roots as well as, in the building up of complete compounds and proteins, which subsequently helps in boosting the immunity of the crops.

The market for crop micronutrients is expected to show a steady growth over the analysed period. One of the primary factors expected to contribute to the market growth includes the growth of deficiencies in soil along with the rising awareness among farmers and crop growers when it comes to the importance of essential nutrients to the crops. Further, there has been a continually rising awareness of food security, which is also a major factor to drive the demand for crop micronutrients. The increasing requirements for enhanced crop yield and productivity are also expected to contribute to the rise of demand for these nutrients as they are proven to be highly effective for an improved production of crops. However, a significant fall in the availability of arable land juxtaposed to an increase in the rising demand for food has put a lot of pressure on the already limited available resources. Hence, for improving the yield in the limited land that is available, the farmers have resorted to using various micronutrients which is projected to play a significant role in moulding the market growth during the forecasted period.

The availability of substitutes for these micronutrients, coupled with the prevalent unawareness among the farmers about the benefits of them and also the lack of knowledge when it comes to the proper application of these micronutrients are some of the factors that are forecasted to inhibit the market growth moderately during the analysed period. 

Growing food demand to augment growth of the market

The population across the globe has been on an incline for many years now. According to data by the United Nations, by the year 2050, the world population is projected to reach to 9.7 billion. Subsequently, this is considered to be a primary factor that has led to the rise in demand for nutritious food and agricultural crops and is expected to drive the demand in the future as well. The improving economic conditions observed in many parts of the world and the rapidly rising urbanization and industrialization, especially in the developed economies have played a significant role in creating adequate job opportunities for people. This incline in job opportunities is consequently expected to lead to the betterment of economic conditions with each passing day. This in turn is expected to attribute to the  increasing demand for nutritious food thus contributing to the growth of the market.

According to FAO, approximately 821 million people around the world are not provided enough nutrition and are undernourished. Further, with this rapid pace of industrialization and urbanization, there has been an increased pressure on the limited available resources such as land and water is increasing, leading to a significant shrinkage in arable land across the globe. This has further catalysed the increase in use of micronutrients by the farmers, since they are considered highly effective for enhancing yield quantity and quality, given the limited availability of land. Hence, these rising requirements to enhance the agricultural output have further led to an increase in usage of micronutrients, thus, driving market growth.

Fruit and Vegetable crop types to witness robust growth in the forecasted period

On the basis the types of crops, the crop micronutrients market has been segmented into fruits and vegetables, oilseeds and pulses, cereals and grains and others. The fruits and vegetables segment in crop type is expected to experience steady growth over the analysed period. This is possible due to the fact that there has been a constant incline in the demand for fruits and vegetables owing to their nutritional benefits. Furthermore, the growth in the production of vegetables due to the constantly rising demand across the world is driving the demand for micronutrients as well, to enhance their growth. Hence, it becomes essential to maintain the quality of the nutrients for the productivity of vegetables and fruits. Adding to this, the growth in exports of fruits and vegetables from the major exporting countries is also projected to play a significant role in driving of this segment of the market in the given period.

Asia Pacific region to dominate the crop micronutrients market

On the basis of region, the crop micronutrients market can be divided into Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, Middle East and Africa and South America. The Asia Pacific region is expected to show significant growth due to the governments of popular countries like India and China directing their focus on increasing the efficiency in agricultural output. This is expected to give rise to an increased demand for crop micronutrients to enhance yield and thus contribute to the growth of the market. Asia Pacific has been a major region when it comes to the crop micronutrients market throughout ages and is predicted to dominate during the analysed period as well. Agriculture forms the backbone of the Indian economy and is a vital industry in China. These factors are projected to drive the growth of crop micronutrients market in these countries and thus lead to the rise of market shares of the Asia Pacific region.

Covid-19 Insight

The onset of the coronavirus pandemic led to the implementation of lockdowns across the globe. Due to this most production and supply lines were temporarily disconnected which led to a decrease in the demand for these micronutrients and led to a decline in the crop micronutrients market. With most crop producers not being able to meet the rising food demand during the pandemic, there was a surge in the cost of food. This increased demand led to more farmers using crop micronutrients for their production in order to increase crop immunity and decrease the chance of crop failure. Moreover, with the ease in restrictions now and the revival of most industries with their production processes, the market is projected to witness an increase in demand and grow in size.