Summary

The global market for specialty fertilizers is projected to grow at a CAGR of 7.5% during the forecast period (2020 – 2025). The drivers identified in the market are increasing global area under precision farming, increasing incidence of fertilizer leaching, need for improvement of fertilizer use efficiency, and favorable government policies. The government is encouraging farmers to uptake the sustainable farming practice, in order to enhance productivity while minimizing environmental damage, the demand for specialty fertilizers is on the rise. ​

North America and Europe are the largest markets. The Netherlands and the United States are countries with major share in Europe and North America, respectively. Many horticulture industries, parks, landscapes, and golf associations are the prime segments of the market in those regions. Germany, France, Spain, and Canada are some of the leading controlled-release fertilizer consumers in Europe and North America.​ With increasing population growth, and increasing demand for food has exerted pressure on farmers in Asian countries who are progressively shifting to scientific techniques of farming. This is boosting the demand for specialty fertilizers in the Asia Pacific.​

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, the fertilizer industry has been significantly affected in many parts of the world from the outset of pandemic. Due to the shortage of labor and the shutdown of a few fertilizer plants located in the integrated chemical complexes, shipments were affected in the initial lockdown process. China, being the epicenter of the pandemic and was greatly impacted in the beginning. However, the conditions in the country are stabilized and production rates have increased for all fertilizers.

Key Market Trends

Increasing Adoption of Precision Farming Technique

Over the past two decades, PF (precision farming) has successfully made the transition from being an academic research topic to a highly beneficial practice in the field of agriculture. Around 70-80% of the new equipment purchases have been deemed to contain some form of PF tools. An important component of precision farming is the provision of the right dosage of nutrients to crops, at the right time. Controlled release fertilizers serve as important inputs in precision farming, satisfying this need. The precise application of fertilizer is one of the fastest-emerging opportunities in precision farming, and this practice is highly dependent on these controlled-release fertilizers.

​ In addition to optimizing the fertilizer use efficiency, the application of controlled fertilizers using precision farming technologies can also be beneficial to prevent issues, such as excessive fertilizer leaching, fertilizer drain-off, and subsequent increase in biological oxygen demand (BOD) of water bodies. ​

North America dominates the market

The North American region accounts for the largest market share of the global specialty fertilizers market, with the US being its fastest-growing market in the region. From the beginning, specialty fertilizers’ high cost with respect to other nitrogenous fertilizers has restricted their utilization in large-scale production of commodity crops, such as corn, sorghum, wheat, and canola. However, they are commonly used in a specialty, high-value crops, such as vegetables, orchards, nurseries, seed production, etc. Today, their use is limited but is increasing in row crops, primarily due to higher grain prices, environmental concerns, and regulations.

In response to the growing demand, companies mainly focusing on the product launch and expansion in the region. For instance, in 2016, Haifa Group opened a new state-of-the-art for Controlled Release Fertilizer (CRF) plant in the USA the production facility is expected to produce 20,000 MTPA of Haifa’s Multicote™ and CoteN™ CRF.​ Crops, like pineapples, are liable to leaching of potassium. Therefore, the total fertilizer requirement is 6 applications per year. For example, in Florida, the use of Haifa “Multicote” in pineapple increased the yield by 72 metric ton per hectare, compared to average 50 metric ton per hectare. ​ As a result, the environmentally sustainable nature of these specialty fertilizers is driving the demand.

Competitive Landscape

The global specialty fertilizer market is a highly competitive market wherein companies are not only competing based on product quality and promotion but also are focused on strategic moves aimed at occupying larger market shares. However, the market is highly fragmented with the major companies occupying lesser shares. Acquisitions, new product launches, and expansions are some of the major strategies adopted by the market leaders in this domain. Many players in the US are well-established and are the market leaders in specialty fertilizers. Some of the major players are ICL Specialty Fertilizer, Haifa Group, Compo Expert, Nutrient Ltd, and Ekompany among others. For instance, in 2016, Ekompany is merged with Kingenta Ecological Engineering Group Co. Ltd, a leading Chinese company specialized in the development, manufacturing, and marketing of specialty fertilizers.

Additional Benefits:

The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format
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