Biological Seed Treatment Market

Global Biological Seed Treatment Market Size (2024 to 2032)

The global biological seed treatment market was valued at USD 1.23 billion in 2023 and is anticipated to reach USD 1.37 million in 2024 from USD 3.17 million by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 11.10% from 2024 to 2032.

Seed treatment refers to the application of chemicals or biological organisms to seeds for sowing purposes. Biological seed treatment allows plants, seeds, and seedlings to resist damage from pathogenic fungi. In addition, natural seed treatment promotes nitrogen fixation, stimulates cell division, and root development, and increases stress tolerance in plants. Chemical seed treatments have caused serious environmental problems due to their toxicity. Organic seed treatments, on the other hand, are environmentally friendly and promote more consistent planting and improved yield.

Impact of COVID-19 on the Biological Seed Treatment Market

COVID-19 is disrupting certain activities in agriculture and supply chains. The transportation limitations have resulted in a disruption in the supply chain, along with the temporary closures of manufacturing facilities. Media reports show that closing hotels, restaurants, candy stores, and tea rooms during the shutdown is already reducing milk sales. The economic impact will likely be much more severe for India for two reasons. First, before COVID-19, the economy was already slowing down, exacerbating existing problems of unemployment, low income, rural distress, malnutrition, and widespread inequality. Second, the large informal sector is particularly vulnerable.

Market Drivers and Restraints

Growers are increasingly accepting of the commercial seed industry as demand has shifted towards seeds marketed from open and farm-kept hybrid seed varieties in many countries around the world. Biological seed treatments have made significant achievements in product development with respect to biological coating and achieving crop efficiency in the early stages of planting. Other small innovations and product life improvements can help evolve into a more reliable product. Today, these biological seed treatment products not only help protect seeds but also help act as seed activators, thereby improving crop yields. The basic function of the initial biological seed treatment was mainly to control certain soil pathogens that affect seed yield. However, this has evolved a lot over the years and has become much more complex by nature. Modification in the existing formulations and active ingredients have helped implement seed treatments against diseases, insects, and nematodes, with various combinations of fungicides, insecticides, and inoculants. Although field trials have been conducted by key manufacturers such as BASF using inoculants applied to agricultural seeds to analyze crop yields, the results are not much higher than expected due to the need to study in more detail the improvement of the interaction between seeds and inoculants in the sowing stage.

This contributed greatly to the reduction of biotic and abiotic stress in the crop. Protecting the crop from abiotic stress could improve seed vitality, increase stress tolerance, and improve nutrient absorption. This, in turn, will improve plant emergence, leaf growth, and nutrient utilization efficiency while providing essential protection for the crop. These factors strongly drive the guarantee of good crop yields and act as insurance for investments made by farmers in different seeds. Therefore, it remains one of the most powerful drivers of the biological seed treatment market for decades to come. As a result, there has been an increase in demand to improve crop yields and use highly effective seed treatments in countries like Brazil, which is one of the early adopters of these products, which has led some manufacturers to launch new products of biological treatment of seeds in the region.

However, the availability of these biological seed treatment products is still very limited in the market, due to the different regulations that prevail in different countries. Product and formula registrations, in addition to the use of new active ingredients, make it difficult for companies to make their products available around the world at the same time. This tends to further weaken product knowledge and awareness, making technology even more difficult to accelerate. There continues to be an established market for seed treatment chemicals, on which farmers are highly dependent, making the market for organic seed treatment a very important and growing niche.

REPORT COVERAGE

REGIONAL ANALYSIS

North America dominated the industry with a 40.6% share in terms of revenue in the review period. The region is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.8% from 2022 - 2027. Increasing adoption of organic agriculture in countries like the United States, Mexico, and Canada is expected to boost the industry in the future. Canada and Mexico are the world's leading cereal exporters. To produce a substantial number of crops, farmers use biological seed treatment to protect seeds and crops from pathogens, pests, and nematodes.

The organic food market grew 6% in the United States and 9% in Canada in the same year. More than 19,000 organic producers are present in North America, of which 14,000 are only in the United States and 4,800 in Canada. Asia-Pacific is the fastest-growing region and is supposed to accelerate at a CAGR of 12.5% ​​during the projection period. Strong growth in the agricultural sector in countries such as India, China, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka, is expected to boost demand for products in the future. Additionally, population growth and rising incomes are likely to continue to drive demand for food and agricultural products.

LEADING COMPANY

Bayer Crop Science AG had the largest share of the Biological Seed Treatment Market in terms of sales and revenue in 2020.

KEY MARKET PLAYERS

Significant players in the Biological Seed Treatment Market include Novozymes, Bayer Crop Science AG, Koppert B.V., Syngenta AG, BASF SE, Arysta LifeScience Limited, Italpollina S.P.A., Valent Biosciences Corporation, and Monsanto.

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN THE GLOBAL BIOLOGICAL SEED TREATMENT MARKET

• In March 2019, Corteva Agriscience (formerly DowDuPont) opened a new seed technology center in Aussonne, France, which would help the company improve the performance of farmers in this region.
• In September 2018, Plant Health Care launched the Harpin αβ product for corn seed treatment applications, which would help the company tap into a huge corn market spanning over 90 million acres.
• In July 2017, Syngenta and Valagro (Italy) signed a deal whereby Valagro would supply biostimulants to Syngenta for the treatment of seeds. With mutual cooperation, Syngenta decided to launch EPIVIO Energy in the following years.

DETAILED SEGMENTATION OF THE GLOBAL BIOLOGICAL SEED TREATMENT MARKET INCLUDED IN THIS REPORT

This research report on the global biological seed treatment market has been segmented & sub-segmented based on the type, function, crop, and region.

By Type

• microbes
• plants
• others

By Function

• seed improvement
  • biofertilizers
  • biostimulants
• seed protection
  • bioinsecticides
  • bio-fungicides
  • others

By Crop

• corn
• wheat
• soybeans
• cotton
• sunflower
• vegetables
• others

By Region

• North America
• Europe
• Asia Pacific
• Middle East and Africa
• Latin America