Industrialization & Shifting Crop Mixes to Support Rising Pesticide Application Rates

Cleveland OH, September 13, 2021 – Rapidly evolving agricultural industries in Latin America, Asia, and Africa will support significant market opportunities for agricultural pesticides through 2025, according to a new Freedonia Group analysis:

• Area dedicated to cropland is expected to increase more in these regions than in the more mature markets in Europe and North America as developing countries continue to shift their agricultural sectors from subsistence to industrialized formats.
• A change in focus from subsistence crops to higher value cash crops for export markets will incentivize farmers to maximize production and to invest in more effective crop protection products.

In more developed agricultural markets, limited growth in cropland will be offset by greater production per hectare, which will require increased spending on pesticides. The focus will be on products that are both effective and generally safe for the environment. These changes are supported by evolving regulatory requirements and a decreasing agricultural workforce, thus increasing the importance of efficiency.

Changing Demographics Will Continue to Support Gains in Developing Nonagricultural Markets

A growing middle class and increasing emphasis on the importance of urban green spaces will also support nonagricultural demand gains in developing pesticide markets. For instance, in China:

• Increasing numbers of golf courses, greater emphasis on the attractiveness of public outdoor spaces, and an expanding middle class willing to pay for residential landscaping services will support strong growth in China’s commercial pesticide market.
• While per capita spending rates on consumer pesticides in China are among the lowest in the world, an increase in the number of medium-sized Chinese cities with suburban residential areas with larger yards will support gains in lawn and garden applications.

However, increasing urban population density in China and a number of other developing pesticide markets may limit available space for gardens, and – in many countries – commercial pesticide use will continue to be dominated by insect and rodent control for public health reasons.

Want to Learn More?

Global Pesticides, now available from The Freedonia Group, projects US pesticide demand to increase 2.3% annually to $17 billion in 2025, supported mostly by growth in the dominant agricultural market.

Global Pesticides analyzes the world market for pesticides. Historical data for 2010, 2015 and 2020, and forecasts to 2025 and 2030 are provided for demand in current (including inflation) US dollars and/or metric tons of active ingredient.

The products focused on are:

• herbicides
• insecticides
• fungicides
• other pesticides and repellants

Markets analyzed are:

• agriculture
• commercial (including industrial)
• consumer

Also included in the scope of this report are repellants, which instead of killing pests, are designed to repel or discourage their presence.