India Agricultural Pheromones Market Size, Share & COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Type (Sex Pheromones, Aggregation Pheromones, Others), By Function (Mating Disruption, Detection & Monitoring, Mass Trapping), By Crop (Field Crops, Orchard Crops, Vegetables, Others), and Regional Forecast, 2022-2029

The India agricultural pheromones market size was USD 3.54 million in 2021. The market is projected to grow from USD 4.05 million in 2022 to USD 11.03 million by 2029, exhibiting a CAGR of 15.40% during the forecast period. The global COVID-19 pandemic has been unprecedented and staggering, with agricultural pheromones experiencing lower-than-anticipated demand across the country compared to pre-pandemic levels. Based on our analysis, the market exhibited a growth of 13.54% in 2020 as compared to 2019.

India is an agrarian country and is among the largest producers of cash crops, such as cashew, mangoes, cotton, and others in the world. However, the quality and productivity of these crops are compromised due to their vulnerability to pest attacks. The traditional method for curbing these outbreaks is the application of synthetic pesticides at regular intervals. However, the growing health and environmental concerns among the farmers and agrochemical manufacturers have shifted their focus toward sustainable methods such as pheromones. These pheromones play a crucial role in survival of the insects and pests, as it helps them modify their behavioural response to the environment. Furthermore, the growing knowledge and increased research about the use of agricultural pheromones for sustainable crop protection in the country are estimated to drive the market growth over the forecast period.

COVID-19 IMPACT

Declined Market Growth Due to Disruptions in Raw Material Supply Chains amid COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has exerted an asymmetric impact on various sectors across the globe. This substantially impacted the food and agriculture sectors as the country experienced lockdowns, restrictions in public movements, and factories being shut down. Even though agricultural inputs, such as pesticides, are among the essential products in agriculture, the businesses faced several disruptions in operations globally. It impacted the crop protection market and industrial agriculture sector based on the policies imposed by the banks and governments on monetary use. However, the outbreak made consumers more conscious about the food they consumed and their source; therefore, to reduce biomagnification in the food chain, farmers are expected to adopt non-chemical and sustainable crop protection solutions, including insect pheromones, more vigorously in the coming years. The transportation and logistics delay created supply chain gaps, increasing the manufacturers’ operational costs. However, their rising focus toward digitized supply chain models and modern mass manufacturing by the producers can positively impact the market outlook.

LATEST TRENDS

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Rise in Adoption of Precision Agriculture to Aid Growth

Precision farming has become promptly predominant in the global and Indian agriculture industry in the past few years and encourages farmers to no longer rely on traditional agriculture practices. The rate at which global agricultural pheromones market is growing suggests positive and promising growth of the market in India as well. The farming technique has exhibited fruitful results in promoting sustainable crop production by minimizing the usage of available resources. As pheromones are costly, utilizing them judiciously becomes vital. Hence, using it in combination with other products and tools becomes effective. Government initiatives to promote these precision farming techniques have led to farmers' growing adoption of drones and satellite imagery. For instance, the agricultural experts from Banaras Hindu University (BHU) have demonstrated the utility of drones in rice and wheat fields to the farmers. Due to wet soil, tilling is not possible. Furthermore, initiating collaborations between insect pheromones producers and precision farming system manufacturers can offer them monetary benefits and help expand their market prominence in the country, thereby paving the India agricultural pheromones market growth.

DRIVING FACTORS

Surging Demand for High-Value Horticulture Crops to Fuel Growth

Demand for high-value crops, such as fruits, vegetables, and others, is significantly rising in India due to the high remuneration factor associated with the production of these crops. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, in India, horticulture production surged by 2.93% in 2020-21 to reach around 329.86 million tons. Protecting these commercially valuable crops from pest attacks becomes crucial such as cashew, almonds, and mangoes. In a bid to curb the pest outbreak, utilizing insect pheromones within the horticulture sector has proven beneficial. As these synthetic pheromones mimic the insects’ pheromones to lure them into traps and kill them without compromising the soil and plant quality, they are considered to be safe.

Furthermore, the increasing demand for horticulture crops has also triggered governmental support to improve horticulture production across the country at a large scale. Therefore, National Horticulture Mission (NHM) was formed to promote the horticulture sector in India. In addition, there is rising food security concerns as increasing population emphasize adopting eco-friendly and effective crop protection and production inputs to prevent crop damage by insects. Thus, these factors are expected to further augment the demand for pheromones in the coming years.

Growing Utilization of Integrated Pest Management Practices to Stimulate Growth

Integrated pest management practices (IPM) have emerged as effective solutions to eradicate and control the damage caused by insect pests in agricultural fields. It consists of various techniques that are available in a compatible manner and effectively manage the pest population, which causes economical damage. Agricultural pheromones have surfaced as an effective technique to control major crop-damaging pests compared to some conventional chemical-based pest control. This has significantly influenced growers to incline toward integrated pest management practices as it is environment-friendly and helps increase crop yields. In addition, Ladakh, an Indian union territory mainly known for its fruit crops, such as apples, frequently faces the issues of codling moth attacks. To get rid of these pests, the Government of India demonstrated pheromone technology to farmers in Ladakh between 2012-2018, which reduced the fruit damage by nearly 55%. Such factors indicate the gradual adoption of IPM techniques in India, which further offers ample opportunity for the market to flourish in the foreseeable future.

RESTRAINING FACTORS

High Maintenance and Production Costs of Pheromones to Hamper Market

The expensive nature of various insect pheromone types compared to conventional fungicides, insecticides, and other pesticides is a major factor slowing the pheromone market growth. The cost superiority of such products makes it an uneconomical pest control option at large-scale agriculture. In addition, the manufacturing process of chemically-synthesized pheromones is time-consuming as well as its costly nature puts it at a disadvantage. The production of the basic component of a formulation, such as a pheromone, is very expensive, and the cost per gram of even the least costly pheromone component is quite high. Furthermore, the additional cost of formulating the product into dispensers for retailing further adds to the cost of the final product, which ultimately makes it difficult to afford for small-scale farmers. Thus, these factors cumulatively may act toward hindering market growth.

SEGMENTATION

By Type Analysis

Wide Utilization of Sex Pheromones Makes it the Most Preferred Type

Based on type, the market is segmented by sex pheromones, aggregation pheromones, and others. Sex pheromones were the leading product segment, which is mainly attributed to its growing awareness among farmers and extensive research for use in IPM. Furthermore, its non-toxic nature to animals and plants, coupled with its species specific nature and their requirements in small amounts, makes it more desirable among farmers.

Aggregation pheromones are expected to gain traction as they offer mass host resistance by attracting the sexes of the same species. These pheromones lead to forming a group of individuals for purposes, such as mating, then mass attacking the group of pests to overcome resistance, thereby offering potential growth opportunities.

By Function Analysis

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Mating Disruption to Emerge as the Prominent Function Due to its Effectiveness

Based on function, the mating disruption segment held the major market share in 2021. This function has proven to be most effective, owing to its utilization with sex pheromones. Mating disruption includes confusing the pests using either male or female pheromones and preventing them from mating. Its high effectiveness in vegetable crops, fruits, and forests has made it the most widely accepted function.

Mass trapping is anticipated to witness faster growth as it significantly reduces the number of pests by luring them into pheromone traps and killing them. Only one of the sexes is trapped, preventing mating, thereby inhibiting females from laying eggs.

By Crop Analysis

Orchard Crops to Hold Major Share Due to its Susceptibility to Pests

On the basis of crop, orchards emerged as the major crop type as they are prominently cultivated in India and are among the most valued crops. These crops are highly susceptible to pests such as codling moths, apple maggots, fruit fly, and others and the application of pheromones to control such pest attacks has been proven effective. Thus, its utilization in horticulture crops is anticipated to grow in the forthcoming years.

REGIONAL INSIGHTS

The India agricultural pheromones market was estimated at USD 3.54 million in 2021. The awareness and knowledge about agriculture biopesticides and pheromones have increased considerably in the past few years in India. This can be mainly attributed to the growing implementation of IPM practices due to increased environmental and health concerns, the introduction of new products by market players, and increased digitalization. The significant inclination toward integrated pest management practices for sustainable farming by the growers in India has also aided the market growth of various sustainable practices such as using pheromones for pest control. Furthermore, rapid expansion of the horticulture sector has also augmented the demand for such pheromones, as they help improve yields and maximize their profits. Further, sustainable farming practices are being widely adopted by Indian farmers, and evolving consumers’ focus toward organic and natural products is expected to support the country's market performance.

KEY INDUSTRY PLAYERS

New Product Development and Innovation to be Most Focused Strategies to Aid Market Growth

The prominent manufacturers in the industry are currently focusing on developing safe, organic, and cost-effective agricultural pheromones for the growers as an alternative to chemical crop protection chemicals. The market comprises small and larger players, and thus it appears fragmented. Russell IPM, ATGC Biotech Pvt. Ltd., Provivi Inc., and Barrix Agro Sciences are some of the key players in the India agricultural pheromones market.

LIST OF KEY COMPANIES PROFILED:

• Barrix Agro Sciences Pvt. Ltd. (Bangalore, India)


• Russell IPM (Deeside, U.K.)


• Pheromone Chemicals (Hyderabad, India)


• ATGC Biotech Pvt. Ltd. (ISCA Global) (Hyderabad, India)


• Agri Phero Solutionz (Hyderabad, India)


• Jaydev Chemical Industries (Mumbai, India)


• Green Revolutions (Kolhapur, India)


• Gaiagen Technologies Pvt. Ltd. (Mumbai, India)


• Rentokil PCI (Mumbai, India)


• Provivi Inc. (Santa Monica, U.S.)

KEY INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENTS:

• June 2021 – Punjab Agriculture University (PAU) started a state-wide program to encourage farmers to use pheromone traps in fields to curb pink bollworm infestations. 


• May 2020 – Jaydev Chemicals Industries proposed establishing pesticide-specific intermediates (insect pheromone) & synthetic organic chemicals manufacturing unit in Raigad, Maharashtra.

Report Coverage 

An Infographic Representation of India Agricultural Pheromones Market

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The research report provides qualitative and quantitative insights into the market. It also offers a detailed analysis of its types, function, market size, and growth rate for all possible segments in the market.

Along with this, the report provides an elaborative analysis of the market dynamics and competitive landscape. Various key insights presented in the report are an overview of related markets, research methodology, recent industry developments, such as mergers & acquisitions, regulatory scenario in critical countries, and key industry trends.

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