Emerging Markets for Biostimulants
Scroll Down to Read
BY RENEE TARGOS
EDITOR
As regulatory trends in regions like the European Union (EU) and India increasingly support biostimulants, growers are becoming more confident about the efficacy of these products for enhancing yields and relieving crop abiotic stress due to drought and heat. As education and positive results spread among growers internationally, fast-paced growth for biostimulants continues in the global market.
AgbioInvestor reports that biostimulant key markets include the EU, United States, Brazil, India, and China. AgbioInvestor Co-Founder Garry Mabon said that other markets that are seeing growth are Chile and Peru due to being important producers of specialty crops for export and that, “biostimulants initially found the majority of their usage in specialties such as high-value fruits and vegetables, however usage has been increasing rapidly in field crops around the world.”
Many multinational companies are expanding into these markets through acquisitions and partnerships like Syngenta and Valagro SpA, Corteva and Stoller, and most recently, Bayer’s partnership with Kimitec for the development and commercialization of biological products, including biostimulants.
Regions like India are increasing involvement in biologicals, “through in-house R&D as well as through acquisitions, though they are still not very active yet in the international M&A scene,” said Liew. “They seem to be taking a cautious and conservative approach when it comes to the bio ag inputs sector compared to the chemical ag inputs sector, with which they are much more familiar.”
Liew believes international M&A activity for biostimulants will continue in 2023 and onward, citing the influence of regional strategies to decrease chemical fertilizers and pesticides, like the EU’s Farm to Fork calling for 20% and 50% reduction in chemical fertilizers and chemical pesticides usage by 2030.
“The trend [for M&A] will continue, and the pace will depend on what good targets are available,” said Liew. “The strong interest in biostimulants is arising from the need to produce more with less — producing more food with less damaging crop inputs.”
Mabon said other drivers for the biostimulant market include:
- Increased Widespread Adoption: “Usage in field crop markets such as in the U.S., Brazil, and EU have been expanding strongly from a low base. As an example, in a survey of Spanish growers in 2019, AgbioInvestor found that almost 80% of tomato growers were already using biostimulants, whereas for wheat and barley, only 11% and 7% respectively were using biostimulants. If many more wheat and barley growers start to use these technologies, the treated acreage (and market value) could increase strongly.”
- Market Access: “Biostimulants have increased market reach in recent years through new distribution relationships, licensing arrangements, or M&A activities. Wider access to growers is expected to help drive growth in the coming years.”
- Fertilizer Prices: “The record fertilizer prices experienced in recent years have led to growers looking at ways to improve the efficiency of fertilization in order to save costs, to the benefit of biostimulants.”
- Environmental Change: “Extreme climate variability and weather events like droughts and excessive hot temperatures have led to growers assessing biostimulants for their potential as an insurance policy against unfavorable conditions.”
- New products: “Innovative new solutions are coming to the market that meet specific grower requirements.”
Innovative Products
Companies, like Acadian Plant Health and Tidal Vision, are turning to the oceans to find solutions for land. In February, Acadian announced its Sea Beyond products using patented seaweed technology. Tidal Vision, based in the U.S., is using chitosan from crab shells.
For Helena Agri-Enterprises, LLC, based in the U.S., biostimulants are being designed to work with other products. “Zypro has been a game changer for Helena customers in recent years … [it] harnesses the science of enzymes, which increase native soil microbial activity and improve root effectiveness for enhanced nutrient uptake,” said Mike Powell, Senior Brand Manager of Crop Production and BioScience Products, Helena Agri-Enterprises. “With VersaShield Formulation Technology, Zypro enzymes are stabilized for consistency and easy application with fertilizers, fungicides, and insecticides without the complicated tank-mix restrictions of other microbial products.”
EVOIA and Albaugh announced a supply and distribution agreement with Albaugh offering the new AmpliFYR product for their customers. AmpliFYR is proprietary seed treatment for row crops that improves crop establishment, increases seedling root, and shoot growth, and enhances the ability of the seedling to tolerate abiotic stress.
In a press statement, Juliette MacKay, Chief Executive Officer, EVOIA said: “We are excited to bring this patented liquid biochar extract technology to market with such a strong team as Albaugh. EVOIA uses fire to convert sustainable raw biomass into plant-beneficial compounds, then transforms them into highly active, consistent biostimulants.”
Biorizon Biotech, working in Latin America, Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific, uses different types of microalgae together with other microorganisms, which can be adapted for use in multiple types of crops.
“As a result, there has been a driven demand for our products. Last year, our sales in this line experienced growth of more than 150% and we expect similar growth in 2023.”
Iglesias believes that the fastest-growing agricultural market will be focused on sustainable and regenerative agriculture. “The new legislations that are appearing in key markets such as the U.S., Brazil, and the EU will be the driving force behind this. The rest of the markets will then have no choice but to update their regulations. People want to eat in a healthier, more sustainable way, and countries are being forced to adapt to this demand.”
Regulations and Growth
In April 2022, the Government of India created regulations for biostimulants that mandate manufacturers have a license to sell and submit products for testing. The Biological Agri Solutions Association of India (BASAI) lead by Chief Executive Officer Vipin Saini, worked with the Government of India to categorize biostimulants under the Fertilizer Control Order. This new regulation is forecasted to open a $1.5 billion biostimulants market for manufacturers willing to follow government guidelines.
In July 2022, the European Union (EU) Fertilizing Products Regulation (FPR), including biostimulants, was fully applied, allowing companies to access the common market of 27 member states of the EU through one harmonized set of rules.
Arne Pingel, newly elected President of the European Biostimulants Industry Council (EBIC) said it took a decade of work by EBIC with leaders Luca Bonini, Chief Executive Officer of Hello Nature, and Giuseppe Natale, Chief Executive Officer of Valagro SpA, and other collaborative partners, including the EU Commission, to create the FPR.
Acadian Plant Health, a member of EBIC, was one of the first biostimulant companies to be approved under the EU’s FPR. David Hiltz, Director of Global Regulatory Affairs for Acadian Plant Health, said while the experience had some challenges, it’s streamlining the process, so companies can bring new biostimulants to market.
“One of the initial challenges around the new regulation was that our product or company needed to be assessed for conformity to determine if it complied with the requirements of the regulation. To do that, the EU had accredited several conformity assessment bodies who would look at a company’s dossier and determine whether it complied. Last summer, there were very few of these conformity assessment bodies with the ability to evaluate plant biostimulants,” said Hiltz.
“The second and largest challenge was the unknown surrounding how these bodies would evaluate our product. The actual technical standards for the plant biostimulant category had only recently been published just prior to the regulation coming into force. We were confident that our historical studies would allow us to demonstrate the composition, safety, and efficacy of our product,” Hiltz continued. “They looked at the information we submitted, came back to us with questions, and allowed us to augment the dossier. It was a relatively smooth process after that. We were pleasantly surprised and pleased with the outcome.”
As more biostimulant companies access markets, growth is expected. DunhamTrimmer’s 2020 Global Biostimulant Report (next issue in 2024) indicates the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for these six regions will be in double digits through 2025. Growth is particularly high for the following three regions:
China is the leading biostimulant market by volume for this region at $152 million. However, with 10.94% CAGR (2020-25), China is not the most rapidly growing market. Nor is it India, the second largest market in this region at $101 million with an expected growth rate of 13.25% (2020-25). The fastest growth in this region through 2025 will be in Southeast Asia at 17.26% CAGR and the Rest of Asia Pacific at 17.60% CAGR. Both markets combined are at $82 million (Southeast Asia: $39 million and Rest of Asia Pacific: $33 million)
Brazil is the leading biostimulant market in Latin America with 2021 sales estimated at $182 million and a 12.29% CAGR (2020-25). In addition to its traditional fruit and vegetable crop uses, a growing culture of biostimulant use in broad-acre crops is emerging. Mexico, with its large fruit and vegetable export hectarage, is the region’s second largest market, with 2021 biostimulant sales estimated at $104 million with a 10.43% CAGR (2020-25). Other Latin American markets with rising acceptance and use are Peru (14.65% CAGR 2020-25), Central America (14.65% CAGR), and Ecuador, Columbia, Paraguay, and Argentina at about 15% CAGR (2020-25) for this region.
Encompassing South Africa and much of Sub-Saharan Africa, the RoW region is the world’s fastest growing with a (2020-2025) CAGR of about 15%. However, this region accounts for the smallest sales at an estimated $141 million in 2021.
In the other regions around the world, there is steady growth, but not as pronounced: