Grain Fumigants Market Size, Share & COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Product Type (Phosphine, Sulfuryl Fluoride, Methyl Bromide, and Others), By Form (Solid, Liquid, and Gas), By Application (Commercial and Residential), and Regional Forecast, 2023-2030

The global grain fumigants market size was valued at USD 1,486.43 million in 2022 and is expected to grow from USD 1,552.87 million in 2023 to USD 2,200.41 million by 2030, exhibiting a CAGR of 5.11% during the forecast period. Asia Pacific dominated the grain fumigants market with a market share of 44.98% in 2022. Moreover, the grain fumigation market size in the U.S. is projected to grow significantly, reaching an estimated value of USD 429.84 million by 2032, driven by increased demand for fumigation products from agriculture-intensive states.

The market is witnessing rapid growth due to increasing awareness of grain fumigants and growing demand for agricultural fumigation services from commercial and residential end-users. Increasing crop yield is resulting in increased trade of grain commodities across the world. As the global trade of grain commodities is growing, the demand for fumigation solutions from cars, transporters/ports, rail, and residential end-users is also rising to preserve the yield in storage facilities.

COVID-19 IMPACT 

Necessity to Protect Stored Food Grains Supported Fumigant Demand During Pandemic

The demand for food grain products increased rapidly among consumers during the pandemic. However, supply chain disruptions caused by the outbreak impacted the prices of grains in the market. This created a strong necessity to store and protect food grains to ensure a consistent consumer supply during the pandemic. Hence, the demand for pest control products, including grain fumigants increased significantly during this period.

Several countries adopted new fumigation protocols during the pandemic and changed the phytosanitary protocols related to food grain trade activities. For instance, in May 2020, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the U.S. Grains Council (USGC), worked with Chinese officials to develop a fumigation protocol related to the import of barley from the U.S. to China. Such agreements helped farmers in the U.S. identify new markets to sell their products.

There was a significant rise in demand for food grains among consumers. For instance, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the food grain supply from the Food Corporation of India (FCI) warehouses increased by 10-fold. This additional supply of food grains was mainly due to the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMKGAY) scheme undertaken by the government to feed the poor during the pandemic. An estimated 292,615 tons of food grains were distributed by the FCI during the fiscal year 2020-21. Thus, to ensure that the food quality is maintained, the FCI undertook special protocols, such as regular fumigation and aeration, to prevent the degradation of food grains and minimize grain loss due to pest infestation.

LATEST TRENDS

Rise in Application of Advanced Fumigation Methods to Control Pest Infestations is the Latest Trend

Fumigation is an expensive and time-consuming process that may not generate the necessary results in controlling the pest in crops. Hence, researchers are working to identify new fumigation techniques and grain fumigants to effectively control pests. Some of the techniques that researchers are experimenting with are spot fumigation and sensor-assisted vacuum hermetic fumigation. Researchers are trying to identify and reduce incipient infestations in localized grain mass. Spot fumigation is considered to be one of the alternative approaches that can be used to provide localized, targeted treatment of pest-infected spots. Such spot fumigations are zone-oriented, and liquid grain fumigants are suitable materials that can be used for this process. Another advantage of this method is that it is environment-friendly and can be easily adopted by farmers in developing nations. This trend is expected to boost the grain fumigants market growth in the coming years.

DRIVING FACTORS

Growing Demand for Well-equipped Grain Storage Facilities to Drive Market Growth

Certain countries in the world produce a higher amount of grains and exceed the existing demand. Conversely, certain countries have high demand but low grain production. This disparity between the production and consumption of food grains prompts countries to engage in trade activities to meet the food requirements of their respective populations.

Several precautionary measures are undertaken to preserve the quality of grains during storage. Grain fumigation is a preventive measure that protects the grains from insects and pests. The use of grain fumigants on stored grains helps to exterminate pests at all growth stages. As there is an urgent need to ensure global food security, the demand for these fumigants is expected to increase significantly in the future.

Rising Demand for High-quality Food Grains to Promote Adoption of Soil Fumigants among Farmers Globally

The increasing demand for food in the market is influencing farmers to either increase the amount of area under cultivation or use crop protection chemicals to improve yield and protect crops from pest infestation. Hence, the demand for pesticides, including soil fumigants, has increased significantly over the past few years.

Soil fumigants help farmers manage soil-borne pathogens, such as fungi and nematodes, thereby maintaining soil quality for crop cultivation. For instance, in Japan, using grain fumigants, such as dichloropropene, ethylene dibromide, and dichloropropane helped control nematodes, such as Hirschmanniella imamuri and Hirschmanniella oryzae, in rice plants. Some of the most widely used soil fumigants are chloropicrin, metam sodium, methyl bromide, and dazomet. Hence, with the increasing demand for high-quality food grains, the market revenue is also projected to increase in the coming years.

RESTRAINING FACTORS

Negative Impact of Fumigants on Environment and Human Health to Hamper Market Growth

Several environmental problems are associated with fumigants' use on grains stored in silos. Products, such as methyl bromide are used as soil fumigants and help to control nematodes, soil insects, pathogens, and weeds. Although it has several advantages, using such fumigants has been found to significantly impact the stratospheric ozone layer, resulting in its depletion. It also affects the soil biodiversity and contaminates the groundwater. Hence, in Europe and the U.S., the use of methyl bromide has been banned for agricultural purposes.

Certain countries have established strong policies that prevent the fumigation of grains at ports. For instance, Canada is one of the biggest exporters of agricultural commodities, such as grains and pulses and prevents the fumigation of grains and pulses at its ports. Methyl bromide, which is used as a fumigating agent, is responsible for negatively impacting the ozone layer. Hence, due to environmental concerns, the country has placed restrictions on fumigation at the ports. Such stringent regulations have already hampered the sales of methyl bromide, and more such rules for other fumigants will hamper the market growth.

SEGMENTATION

By Product Type Analysis

Phosphine Holds Major Market Share Owing to Its Huge Availability and Usage

On the basis of product type, the market is divided into phosphine, sulfuryl fluoride, methyl bromide, and others.

The phosphine segment is anticipated to hold a major grain fumigants market share during the forecast period. Phosphine is an important fumigant primarily used to control insects and pests on stored agricultural produce. It is one of the most suitable fumigants for processing infected grains and flours and controlling stored tobacco leaf-infesting insects, such as tobacco beetles.

Methyl bromide's quick and effective penetration properties have made this gas popular over other disinfectants in cargo and quarantine services. However, this disinfectant is strictly restricted to pre-shipment quarantine use and is exempted from use due to the toxicity and hazards of methyl bromide. Other than these two fumigants, compounds commonly used as fumigants include carbon disulfide, acrylonitrile, ethylene, sulfur dioxide, paradichlorobenzene, and sulfuryl fluoride.  

By Form Analysis

Solid Fumigation to Record Robust Sales Owing to Wider Availabilit

The market, on the basis of form, is divided into solid, liquid, and gas.

The solid segment holds the largest market share due to wider availability of solid fumigants in the market and is expected to grow with the highest CAGR during the forecast period owing to the prioritized use of solid fumigants in storage facilities.

Some active ingredients in fumigation are liquid when packaged but become gaseous when released, while others remain gaseous during preparation, packaging, and release. The active ingredient is not formulated under pressure, as it is volatile when stored in regular containers. Others are solids that release gas when applied under high humidity or water vapor conditions.

The most commonly used fumigants on the market are phosphine, sulfuryl fluoride, and methyl bromide. Different fumigants have different modes of action based on their application and ingredients, but in all cases, there is a lethal reaction to the chemical that leads to suffocation.

By Application Analysis

Commercial Segment to Record Highest Growth Rate Owing to Increased Demand from Ports and Other Commercial Establishments

On the basis of application, the market is divided into commercial and residential. The residential segment covers the fumigation carried out at the domestic level by residential consumers or small-scale farmers before they take their produce to the market.

Commercial fumigation takes place in ports, railroads, vehicles, containers, ships, and warehouses. Marine fumigation is carried out on grains transported from one port to another by ship. Fumigation is carried out inside the container to control pest infestation caused by changes in humidity and temperature during transportation. Rail and vehicle fumigation is carried out on grains transported by car or train. These trains typically ship grains to inland destinations and require less fumigation than the ship fumigation process, as ship transport takes longer than rail/car transport. With an increasing number of transportation and trade services, demand for fumigants from the commercial segment makes it the largest and fastest-growing segment.

REGIONAL INSIGHTS

Based on region, the market covers North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, South America, and the Middle East & Africa. Asia Pacific is the largest market. The demand for soil fumigants is increasing rapidly in the region’s agriculture-intensive countries such as India, China, and other Southeast Asian nations. The region has a huge population, and disposable income is increasing significantly due to rapid urbanization and industrialization. Hence, there is a growing demand for high-quality, nutritious food products in Asia. China is one of the region's largest grain fumigant consumers, followed by India, Thailand, and other Southeast Asian countries. Among various forms of fumigants, solid fumigants account for a significant market share as they can be easily applied to the products.

Grain is one of the major commodities cultivated in Europe. France has one of the largest grain storage capacities, followed by Germany and Spain. Other countries are also investing heavily in improving their grain storage facilities, thereby creating opportunities for fumigant manufacturers to provide high-quality products and services to the growing market. Some of the region's major grain fumigant manufacturing companies include BASF SE, Solvay, Detia Degesch GmbH, and others.

The U.S. is North America's largest market, followed by Canada and Mexico. In the U.S., the market growth is primarily driven by increased demand for fumigation products from agriculture-intensive states. In addition, the changing weather across Great Lakes, New England, and Northern Midwest states affects the quality of stored food products, including grains, surging the demand for fumigation products.

Food grain shortage has always been one of the topmost concerns for the South American population over the past few decades. The South American natives widely experienced food scarcity and hunger issues, majorly due to financial turmoil and social inequality, which, in turn, has negatively impacted the region and its countries. The region's recent agricultural and technological developments, and the growing demand for high-quality, nutritious food products are prompting farmers to adopt advanced technologies and products to improve their productivity and enhance their food grain storage facility.

The Middle East & Africa is a small but emerging market. The market potential is promising across the region since farmers have started replacing harmful chemicals with fumigants. This is attributed to the fact that fumigants are highly safe and have high shelf life as compared to other pesticides. A few factors boosting the market growth include growing awareness among farmers about the significance of applying fumigants on grains in storage facilities owing to the rising issue of grain damage during storage and transportation.

KEY INDUSTRY PLAYERS

Major Market Players to Employ Acquisition Strategies to Consolidate their Position

The global market is semi-fragmented, with several prominent market leaders and regional players operating across the globe. Some of the key players in the global market are Detia Degesch GmbH, Douglas Product, UPL Limited, Corteva Agriscience, and Solvay, among others.

UPL Limited is one of the largest grain fumigant manufacturers with a strong product portfolio. Its products are formulated to trap pests and insects to reduce the pest population. Another focus of the company is using ingredient-based fumigation to improve the quality of preserved grain products.

The key players in the market are constantly focusing on two major strategies - business expansion and new product development - to expand their product offerings for market growth.

LIST OF KEY COMPANIES PROFILED:

• UPL Limited (India)


• Solvay (Belgium)


• Corteva Agriscience (U.S.)


• BASF SE (Germany)


• Detia Degesch GmbH (Germany)


• Douglas Products (U.S.)


• ECOTEC Fumigation (Argentina)


• Noble Crop Science (India)


• Rollins, Inc. (U.S.)


• Royal Group (India)

KEY INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENTS:

• April 2023 – Rollins Inc. acquired Fox Pest Control Company, a pest management company. It provides services to residential customers across 13 states. This acquisition will provide the company with a growth strategy in new geographies across the U.S. and its brands with new avenues of growth across several regions.


• January 2022 – UPL Limited agreed to a partnership with Bunge, in which Bunge acquired around 33% stake from Sinagro to further enhance its grain orientation strategy in the regions of Brazil. Sinagro mainly focuses on providing external support to agri-producers and end-consumers across Brazil's "Cerrado" Savanna regions. Moreover, this partnership will help both the companies generate mutual profits and strengthen their footprints across the globe.


• May 2021 –Detia Degesch Group acquired Universal Fumigation Services Ltd. Detia Degesch Group increased its market presence in North America with this acquisition. Moreover, it also strengthened its position in the U.S. and Canada markets.


• November 2020 - MustGrow received an exclusive patent license for the fumigation of stored vegetables and grains from the University of Idaho. Securing patents allows companies to stop others from copying, manufacturing, or selling the company's products without their permission.


• July 2020 - Rollins Inc. acquired Adams Pest Control Pty Ltd., Australia's largest independent pest control provider. The acquisition solidified Rollins' presence in Australia. Through this acquisition, Adams Pest Control joined a portfolio of brands alongside Murray Pest Control, Scientific Pest Management, Allpest, and Statewide Pest Control.

REPORT COVERAGE

The research report provides a detailed analysis of the market dynamics and focuses on key aspects such as prominent companies, leading product types, forms, and applications. Besides this, the report offers insights into the latest market trends and highlights key industry developments. In addition to the aforementioned factors, the report encompasses several factors that have contributed to the market’s growth in recent years.

Report Scope & Segmentation: