Biological Product Outlook: 5 Key Takeaways Moving the Global Marketplace

By David Frabotta|27 September 2021

The adoption of biological products has been largely dependent on crop and geography. High-value fruits and vegetables in controlled environments, permanent crops, and sophisticated specialty production systems in advanced economies create the lion’s share of demand, but that could be changing. Environmental, societal, and governmental metrics are putting more pressure on growers to improve soil health and reduce synthetic inputs. Meanwhile biological product costs have been dropping and becoming more accessible amid manufacturing innovation and consolidation that has involved multinational companies with established marketing and distribution.

I cover this topic in great detail in my article “Global Outlook: Biological Products, Initiatives, and Markets Make a Move.” The article was part of Meister Media Worldwide’s recently released Biological Crop Protection & Plant Health Annual Report.

To get a closer look at trends around the world, we interviewed Mark Trimmer, Managing Partner with research consultancy DunhamTrimmer, who discusses emerging product categories and geographies where biological products are positioned to grow. Here are five key takeaways from that interview:

A Renaissance in Nitrogen Fixation: Advances in molecular biology and plant biome studies have led to discovery of novel bacteria in non-legume crops, driving new product introductions in North America.
Improved Production Methods Driving Pheromones: During the past 5 years, new synthesis technologies are lowering the cost of production and driving feasibility to a broader range of crops and geographies.
EU Farm to Fork Creating Opportunities: The EU Green Deal and its goals to reduce synthetic chemicals and fertilizers for food production creates a great number of opportunities, but Europe’s regulatory framework could be an obstacle for widespread product approvals.
Regenerative Agriculture is Pushing Biostimulants: Focus on soil health, carbon sequestration, water optimization, crop rotation, biodiversity, and reduced tillage are maximizing soil productivity, making biostimulants compatible with new operational objectives, incentives, and consumer demand.
Mergers & Acquisitions Will Continue to Strengthen All Sectors: M&A activity is rebounding post-COVID, and activity is increasing significantly in the fragmented biostimulant space in the wake of the Syngenta/Valagro deal.

Read the full article and view the video here.