Agricultural Surfactants Market size was over USD 2.32 billion in 2024 and is projected to cross USD 5.91 billion by the end of 2037, growing at more than 7.4% CAGR during the forecast period i.e., between 2025-2037. In the year 2025, the industry size of agricultural surfactants is estimated at USD 2.46 billion.
The growth of the market can be attributed to the rising demand for food and higher cases of death related to hunger and undernourishment. Around 3 million children die each year as a result of malnutrition and hunger. That represents over half of all fatalities among kids under the age of five. Moreover, nearly 113 million of the world's 822 million undernourished people are suffering from acute hunger, meaning they have a desperate need for food and nutrition.
In addition to these, factors that are believed to fuel the market growth of agricultural surfactants include the rising investment in agriculture-related research and development. An increase in R&D initiatives to produce new products and goods is estimated to promote the growth of the market. As per Economic Research Service 2019, the total public agricultural R&D spending in the U.S was USD 5.16 billion. Besides this, the growing demand for non-ionic surfactants is estimated to boost market growth. The use of surfactants decreases surface tension thereby increasing the efficiency of irrigation through increasing moisture retention. The application of non-ionic surfactants increased the irrigation profit by 20%.
Growth Drivers
Elevating Demand for Food – The agricultural surfactants increased the efficiency of the soil and improves the water penetration into the land, which in turn improves the allover production of food. The increasing population across the world is rising the shortage of farming land, thereby elevating the demand for food. It is estimated that global demand for food will reach 60%-100% by 2050.
Scarcity of Agricultural Land – The scarcity of land has been increasing, therefore to improve the fertility of leftover land is important. The number of lands for agriculture in the U.S reached 2,012,050 farms in 2021, with a decrease of 6,950 farms from 2020 as per the estimations.
Increase of Various Crop Diseases – surfactants are used as a microbial and pathogen elimination in plants and increase the availability of nutrient for them. As per the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 20-40% of the crop across the world is lost to pests each year.
Offers Low Toxicity to Plants – Agricultural surfactants have low concentrations of toxicity, that preserve the nutrients of plants, and are not harmful to humans and animals on consumption. Bio-surfactants are proved to be safe at concentrations equal to or less than 0.25 mg/ml.
Increasing Production of Bio-Surfactants – The rising production of bio-surfactants is likely to boost the market growth. The sales of bio-surfactants in 2018 were USD 2 billion with about 440 thousand tons and are estimated to reach USD 3 billion in 2023.
Challenges
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Base Year |
2024 |
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Forecast Year |
2025-2037 |
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CAGR |
7.4% |
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Base Year Market Size (2024) |
USD 2.32 billion |
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Forecast Year Market Size (2037) |
USD 5.91 billion |
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Regional Scope |
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Crop Type (Cereals & Grains, Fruits & Vegetables)
The global agricultural surfactants market is also segmented and analyzed for demand and supply by crop type into cereals & grains, and fruits & vegetables. Amongst these two segments, the fruits and vegetables segment is expected to garner a significant share at the end of 2037. The growth of the segment is attributed to the rising need to produce more fruits and vegetables. At this time, the globe produces too many grains, fats, and sugars while producing insufficient amounts of fruits, vegetables, and protein to meet the nutritional needs of the population. Moreover, the world needs to boost the production of fruits and vegetables by 3 times, in order to compete the growing demand. On the other hand, low consumption of fruits and vegetables leads to various health problems that also boost the need for fruit and vegetables. Eating too little fruit and vegetables contributes to roughly 14% of all deaths from gastrointestinal cancer worldwide, 11% of deaths from ischemic heart disease, and 9% of deaths from stroke.
Application (Herbicides, Fungicides)
The global agricultural surfactants market is segmented and analyzed for demand and supply by application into herbicides and fungicides. Out of which, the herbicides segment is anticipated to hold the largest market size by the end of 2037 on the back of the improvement of spray droplet absorption and penetration of active contents into the plant foliage is estimated to fuel the market growth. The addition of adjuvants such as surfactants to the spray solution will change the density and viscosity of droplets thus improving the penetration and wettability of the plants which directly impacts the evaporation rate of droplets. As per the observations, the density of glyphosate solution is increased by 2% with the addition of synthetic adjuvant when compared to glyphosate alone.
Our in-depth analysis of the global market includes the following segments:
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By Type |
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By Application |
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By Substrate Type |
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By Crop Type |
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North American Market Forecast
The North American agricultural surfactants market, amongst the market in all the other regions, is projected to hold the largest market share by the end of 2037. The growth of the market can be attributed majorly to the government initiatives to increase the crop yield in order to provide a constant supply of raw materials for food, feed, and biofuel industries. It is observed that 40% of corn from the U.S ends up in the production of biofuel. Besides this, proactive government efforts to boost the production of fertilizers is also expected to augment the market growth. Tom Vilsack, secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), announced that the Biden-Harris Administration allocated USD 500 million in grants available to boost fertilizer production in the United States in an effort to encourage competition and reduce price increases for American farmers brought on by the conflict in Ukraine.
APAC Market Statistics
The Asia Pacific agricultural surfactants market, amongst the market in all the other regions, is projected to hold the significant market share by the end of 2037. The market growth in the region is attributed to rising need for more food production in the region. India is ranked 107th out of 121 countries in the 2022 World Hunger Index, six places lower than its previous position and below countries like Ethiopia, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. Moreover, the few elements that are anticipated to raise the demand for food in the future are the confluence of an increase in low-income settlements, growing food prices, and the necessity of building an urban food agenda.
BASF SE signed two partnerships to strengthen its place in bio-surfactants and actives market. The alliance made with Allied Carbon Solutions Co., Ltd helped BASF to increase consumer demand for safe natural products and Holiferm Ltd will help BASF to develop various glycolipids with fermentation-derived ingredients.
Wilbur-Ellis Holdings, Inc. introduced EMBRECE-EA, a unique combination of surfactants developed to improve the efficiency of fungicides, insecticides, and miticides. This will provide cultivators a premium coverage and high wetting of spray material on the leaf surface.
Author Credits: Rajrani Baghel
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