Inside India: Market Growth, Manufacturing Strength, and a New Era of Ag Innovation
4 November 2025 According to Business Standard, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal predicts India’s agriculture exports will double to $100 billion by 2030 — a milestone that reflects the country’s rapid transformation in both technology and trade. At an AgriBusiness Global LIVE! event during the 2025 Trade Summit in Orlando, FL, industry leaders convened for the session “Inside India: Trends, Tech & Beyond” to explore the key forces driving this evolution — from ag tech and biologicals to GLP-certified labs and evolving regulations.
Among the speakers was Abhijit Bose, Executive President and Chief Operating Officer at Tagros Chemicals Pvt. Ltd., India, who outlined how the Indian agrochemical market is reshaping itself through innovation, manufacturing capability, and strategic diversification.
A Market on the Rise
“The last year has been so dynamic,” Bose said. “If you look at how the Indian agrochemical market has grown, as of 2024–25 the market stood at around $11 billion and is expected to reach about $14.5 billion by 2027–28 — a CAGR of roughly 9%.”
Equally noteworthy is the growth of the biological and bio-based pesticide sector. “The biologicals market stood at about $190 million in 2024–25 and is expected to grow to $510 million over the next decade,” Bose noted. “That shows that both the farming community and the industry are balancing integrated crop and pest management quite well.”
This balance underscores a major shift in India’s agricultural philosophy. Farmers and manufacturers alike are recognizing the importance of sustainable approaches — integrating biologicals with conventional chemistry to improve productivity while minimizing environmental impact.
Shifts in Crop Protection Dynamics
Traditionally, India has been an insecticide-driven market. “About 45–46% of the market was dominated by insecticides, with herbicides around 27–28%,” Bose explained. “That was largely due to small landholdings and the availability of inexpensive farm labor.”
But the past few years have brought a major change. “In the last three years, the herbicide segment has grown from 31% to 39%, especially in cereal crops, fruits, and vegetables,” he said. “That’s a notable shift in India’s agrochemical landscape.”
Driving this transformation is the rise of off-patent innovation. Indian manufacturers have focused on developing specialty combinations — pairing off-patent insecticides or fungicides with generic counterparts to enhance efficacy and manage resistance. “This trend has been one of the key growth drivers,” Bose added.
Another crucial factor is manufacturing self-reliance. “Many Indian companies have realized the need to strengthen their manufacturing capabilities,” he said. “They’ve begun backward integration, developing local vendor partners for key intermediates to reduce dependence on imports.”
India’s Expanding CDMO and CMO Capabilities
As global demand for efficient and cost-effective production grows, India’s contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) and contract manufacturing organization (CMO) sectors have become central to its chemical industry growth story.
“It’s important to differentiate between the two models,” Bose said. “Some companies, like Tagros Chemicals, primarily operate under the CMO model, while others, such as PI Industries, SRF Limited, and Cheminova India, have emerged as strong players in the CDMO space.”
Globally, the CDMO market was valued at about $27.5 billion in 2022–23, with India accounting for roughly 28–30% of that total. Bose expects this share to continue expanding at a 10.6% CAGR over the next eight to nine years.
The growth drivers are clear:
- Backward integration, with Indian firms producing intermediates domestically to reduce import reliance — particularly from China.
- Rapid expansion in contract manufacturing of formulated products, where companies like ABR Agrotech have excelled.
- A growing niche in contract research, which partner with discovery companies from Japan and China.
“Healthy competition with China actually helps India grow,” Bose said. “You can have great technology, but unless you are price competitive, it doesn’t help. The key is offering quality services at competitive prices — and, most importantly, respecting intellectual property.”
Building Global Trust Through IP and Regulation
Intellectual property (IP) protection has become a defining feature of India’s evolving chemical ecosystem. “India has a stringent regulatory framework, overseen by the Central Insecticide Board (CIB),” Bose said. “But beyond product regulation, respecting IP rights is what truly builds trust.”
He emphasized that if India continues to uphold strong IP standards, the country will continue to attract partnerships from global discovery firms — particularly in Japan and Europe. “If you are not respecting IP, global businesses will never come to you,” he said. “But when you do, it builds credibility and creates opportunity.”
The Road Ahead
India’s agrochemical sector stands at a pivotal point — balancing innovation with responsibility, and domestic growth with global opportunity. The numbers point to rapid expansion, but Bose believes the true measure of progress lies in quality, collaboration, and trust.
As India positions itself as both a manufacturing powerhouse and a research hub, companies like Tagros and its peers are leading the way — transforming the country’s role from an agrochemical supplier to a global innovation partner.
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