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, 2022-2029

The global grain fumigants market size was valued at USD 1.50 billion in 2021. The market is projected to grow from USD 1.57 billion in 2022 to USD 2.22 billion by 2029, exhibiting a CAGR of 5.11% during the forecast period. The global COVID-19 pandemic has been unprecedented and staggering, with grain fumigants experiencing higher-than-anticipated demand across all regions compared to pre-pandemic levels. Based on our analysis, the global market exhibited a growth of 3.20% in 2020 as compared to 2019.

The market is witnessing rapid growth due to increasing demand for fumigation service from commercial and residential end-users. Increasing crop yield is resulting in increased trade of grain commodities worldwide. As the worldwide trade of grain commodities is on rise, demand for fumigation solutions from ports, rail/cars transporters, 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 among consumers skyrocketed during the pandemic, and the supply chain disruption caused by the pandemic impacted the price of grains in the market. This created substantial necessity to store and protect food grains to ensure consistent supply to consumers during the pandemic. Hence, the demand for pest control products, including grain fumigants increased significantly during the period.

Several countries adopted new fumigation protocols during the COVID-19 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 fumigation protocol related to import of barley from the U.S. to China. Such agreements helped the farmers in the U.S. to 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 supply of food grains from the godowns of the Food Corporation of India (FCI) 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 disbursed from 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 degradation of food grains and minimize grain loss due to pest infestation.

LATEST TRENDS

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

Fumigation is an expensive and time-consuming process that may not generate necessary results in controlling the pest in crops. Hence, researchers are working in identifying new fumigation techniques and fumigants to control pests effectively. Some of the techniques which are being experimented upon by researchers are spot fumigation and sensor assisted vacuum hermetic fumigation. Researchers are working 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 fumigants are the 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.

DRIVING FACTORS

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

Certain countries in the world produce higher amounts of grains and exceed the existing demand. Conversely, certain countries have a high demand, but grain production is low. 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 population.

Several precautionary measures are undertaken to preserve grain quality during storage. Grain fumigation is a preventive measure that helps protect the grains from insects and pests. The use of fumigants on stored grains helps to exterminate pests at all growth stages. As there is an urgent need in the world to ensure global food security, the demand for fumigants is further 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 the farmers to manage soil-borne pathogens, such as nematodes and fungi, and thereby maintain soil quality for crop cultivation. For instance, in Japan, using fumigants, such as ethylene dibromide, dicholoropropene, and dichloropropane, helped control nematodes such as Hirschmanniella oryzae and Hirschmanniella imamuri in rice plants. Some of the most widely used soil fumigants are methyl bromide, chloropicrin, metam sodium, and dazomet, among others. Hence, with increasing demand for high-quality food grains, the market revenue for grain fumigants is also expected 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 also causes contamination of 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 pulses and prevents 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 growth of methyl bromide and more stringent regulations for other fumigants will hamper the market growth to some extent.

SEGMENTATION

By Product Type Analysis

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Phosphine Holds Major Market Share Owing its Huge Availability and Usage

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

Phosphine is a major fumigant that is primarily used to control insects and pests in stored products. It is one of the most preferred fumigants in treating infected grains, cereals, and flours as well as in eliminating insects that infest stored tobacco leaves such as tobacco beetles.

The quick and effective penetrative & penetrating properties of methyl bromide have made this gas preferred over other disinfectants in cargo and quarantine services.

Although, this disinfectant is strictly restricted to pre-shipment quarantine and is exempted from severe use due to poisonous and dangerous properties of methyl bromide. Other than these two fumigants, compounds that are usually used as fumigants include acrylonitrile, carbon disulfide, ethylene, paradichlorobenzene, sulfur dioxide, and sulfuryl fluoride.

By Form Analysis

Solid Fumigants to Record Robust Sales owing to Wider Availability 

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

Some of the active ingredients in fumigants are liquid in their packaged form but turn into gas when released while others remain gaseous during preparation, packaging, and release. The active ingredients are mainly volatile liquids when stored in a normal container and are therefore not formulated under pressure. Others are solids that release gas when applied under conditions of high humidity or water vapor.

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

By Application Analysis

Commercial Segment to Record Higher Sales 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 levels by residential consumers or small-scale farmers before they take their produce to the market.

Commercial fumigation is carried out on ports, rails, cars, containers, ships, and warehouses. Marine fumigation is carried out on the grains that are being transported from one port to another port through ships. Fumigation is carried out in containers to control the pests that may occur due to humidity or temperature changes in transportation.

Rail/car fumigation is carried out on the grains that are transported through cars or trains. These trains usually carry the grains to domestic destinations and require less amount of fumigation than the marine fumigation process as marine transport takes a longer time than rail/car transport.

REGIONAL INSIGHTS

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Asia Pacific is the largest market for grain fumigants. The demand for soil fumigants is increasing rapidly in agriculture-intensive countries in Asia, such as China, India, and Southeast Asian countries. The region has a huge population and due to rising industrialization and urbanization, the disposable income is increasing significantly. Hence, there is a growing demand for high-quality nutritious food products in Asia Pacific. China is one of the largest consumers of grain fumigants in the region and is 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 on 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 the fumigant manufacturers to provide high-quality fumigation products and services to the growing market. Some of the major grain fumigants manufacturing companies in the region include BASF SE, Solvay, Detia Degesch GmbH, and others.

The U.S. is the largest market for grain fumigants in North America followed by Canada and Mexico. In the U.S., the grain fumigants market growth is primarily driven by increase in demand for fumigation products from agriculture-based states. In addition, the changing weather across Great Lakes, New England, and Northern Midwest states affects the quality of stored food products, including grains and this, in turn, surges the demand for fumigation products.

Food grain shortage has always been one of the utmost concerns for the South American population over the past few decades. The South American natives widely experienced food scarcity and issues of hunger, majorly due to financial turmoil and social inequality, which, in turn, has posed a negative impact on the region of South America and its countries. The recent agricultural and technological development in the region and the growing demand for high quality nutritious food products are prompting farmers to adopt advanced technologies and products to improve their production and enhance their food grain storage facility.

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The Middle East & Africa region is small but a developing market for grain fumigants. The market potential is promising across the region, provided that farmers have started replacing more harmful chemicals with fumigants, owing to the high safety quotient associated with fumigants and their high-shelf life as compared to other pesticides. These methods are applied to protect the grains from several soil insects, nematodes, weeds, and rodents by injecting them into the soil or using them to store grains. A few factors increasing the market growth are growing awareness among farmers about the significance of applying fumigants on grains in storage facilities owing to the rising issues with grain damage during storage and transportation.

KEY INDUSTRY PLAYERS

Major Market Players Employ Acquisition Strategies to Consolidate Market Position 

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

UPL Limited is one of the largest manufacturers of grain fumigants with a strong product portfolio. Its products are formulated to trap the targeted pests or insects to reduce pest populations. The company further focuses on using active ingredient-based fumigants to improve the quality of stored grain produce. 

The prominent players in the market are constantly focusing on two significant strategies, new product development and business expansion to expand their consumer offerings for market growth.

LIST OF KEY COMPANIES PROFILED:

• UPL Limited (India)


• Corteva Agriscience (U.S.)


• Solvay (Belgium)


• Detia Degesch GmbH (Germany)


• Douglas Products (U.S.)


• ECOTEC Fumigation (Argentina)


• Noble Crop Science (India)


• Rollins, Inc. (U.S.)


• Royal Group (India)


• BASF SE (Germany)

KEY INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENTS:

• January 2022 – Detia Degesch Group launched a new fumigant Ultraphos in the U.S. market. It is a high purity phosphine fumigant in a gaseous state packaged in reusable steel cylinders. Such new product launches not only help the company diversify its product portfolio but also help in generating higher profits.


• October 2021 – BASF and Vipergen collaborated to produce sustainable crop protection products for the agri-business. This strategic partnership combines different technologies, which is further used for the development of new active ingredient-based crop solutions. Furthermore, this venture provides assistance to the growers & farmers that will create a way for effective pest solutions.  


• November 2019 - Solvay announced the completion of its Turkish fumigation distributor formalities, Agrifum, which will further open several opportunities for the company to export their fumigants, such as ECO2FUME PHOSPHINE FUMIGANT & VAPORPH3OS PHOSPHINE FUMIGANT, in the Turkish market. Such strategies help the company to explore market needs of underdeveloped countries with high food insecurity levels, thus helping to attain profit in the longer run.


• December 2018 - Douglas Products announced the formation of a new Plant Health Division following the addition of Growth Products, based in New York, and AgriEnergy Resources, based in Illinois, both known for innovation in biological plant nutrition and soil health. The addition of both companies is to expand its branded specialty chemicals and biological solutions portfolio for the agriculture and turf & ornamental segments.


• June 2019 - UPL Ltd, announced the expansion of its business unit by launching “Natural Plant Protection,” to strengthen the agricultural inputs by upgrading their product portfolio, research & development centers as well as laboratory facilities. With this expansion, the company will be capable of attracting a larger consumer base and generate maximum profit, thus promoting a sustainable future.

REPORT COVERAGE

An Infographic Representation of Grain Fumigation Market

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

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