South Africa Agrochemicals Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

South Africa Agrochemicals Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

The South Africa Agrochemical Market was valued at USD 1,127.8 miilion in 2020 and is projected to register a CAGR of 3.9% during the forecast period (2021-2026).

The recent outbreak of coronavirus has affected the production and supply of agrochemicals in the country. Initially farmers have expected good productivity due to plenty of rains. The sudden demand for chemicals from thousands of farmers unfortunately coincided with major international importation issues caused by COVID-19. In terms of supply, a short-term shortage of migrant laborers amidst distribution bottlenecks created a wide gap between the number of workers required for the production of Agrochemicals and the ones available. Thus, the global pandemic has caused a negative impact on the market.

South Africa is a vast country in terms of land area. However, there is very little land available for agricultural usage. Hence, the need of improving the efficiency of production has been driving the market demand for agrochemicals. Further, with economic improvement, farmers have become more aware of the necessity of agrochemicals to the land. Integrated farming practices, if adopted, may further create an opportunity for the market.

The cost of agrochemicals is not always affordable to the farmers belonging to lower economic classes, and this is becoming a major constraint to the demand for fertilizers in the country. Along with that, there is a need to strengthen the government’s involvement in popularizing the consumption of agrochemicals for better productivity of agricultural lands.

South Africa is one of the major countries for agriculture in Africa. The South African agrochemical market is import-dependent. Within the fertilizer category, all the potassic fertilizers consumed are imported, and 60%-70% of the nitrogenous fertilizers are imported. The remaining fertilizers are produced domestically.

Key Market TrendsIncreasing Adoption of Bio Based Agro Chemicals

Being essentially less harmful compared to regular synthetic pesticides, biopesticides typically affect only the target pest and other organisms that are closely related to it, therefore, biopesticides are gaining popularity. According to FAO, the consumption of fertilizers in South Africa has been increasing from 47 Kg per hectare in 2005 to 60 Kg per hectare in 2016.The more consumption of chemical fertilizers than recommended levels over the years has led to soil acidification, thus, more bio fertilizers are needed for correcting the PH value of the soil.

Production need to be increased on low fertile soil that needs high amount of bio fertilizers. This enhances the nutrient availability of crop plants (by processes like fixing atmosphere N or dissolving P present in the soil), thus, imparting better health to crops and soil, thereby, enhancing crop yields, which, in turn, is anticipated to drive the biofertilizer market during the forecast period.

The commercial farming sector produces more than 95% of the total marketed agricultural output. For instance, Maize accounts for 41% of total fertilizer application whereas sugar cane accounts for 18% that can be replaced by biofertilizers that increase the sugarcane yield by 20-30 metric ton per hectare as compared to chemical fertilizers, which yield 60 metric ton per hectare as it helps to solubilize phosphorus and potassium, thus, making it easier for nutrient absorption. Therefore, the rise in demand for bio-based chemicals such as biofertilizers are anticipated to drive the market significantly during the forecast period.

Need for increased land productivity

The main focus of the agricultural sector is to increase the productivity and food security in the country. However, the country’s agricultural productivity is quite fluctuating over the years, as compared to neighboring regional economies. Cereal crops especially Maize has contributed highest in the overall demand for agrochemicals as per studies. Maximum demand for agrochemical products such as pesticides and fertilizers are from cereal crop growers in the country. The major pesticides used in cereal crops are Glyphosate, 2.4D, and Metolachor. The use of agrochemicals is the highest for the cereals and grains segment as soil nutrient deficiencies can cause decreased yield and less bioavailable nutrients in crops such as rice. Various essential mineral supplementation through fertilizers increases rice crop yield and nutrient content in harvested grains. Thus, due to growing population, increasing focus on food security, increased investment in research and development, increase in need to enhance the land productivity and increase in farming income the market studied is anticipated to grow during the forecast period.

Competitive Landscape

South Africa Agrochemicals Market is highly competitive with the presence of many international and domestic players operating in the market. Sasol Limited, International ASA, OCP and K+SG were the prominent players in South Africa Fertilizers Market. While companies such as Bayer Cropscience AG, BASF SE and UPL Limited are some notable players in Pesticides Market.

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• The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format
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Companies Mentioned

IBM Corporation
Oracle Corporation
Internap Corporation
Packet Inc. (An Equinix Inc. Company)
Scaleway Inc.
Amazon Web Services Inc
Rackspace Inc.
CenturyLink, Inc.
LightEdge Solutions, Inc

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