Agricultural Micronutrients Market Size & Share Analysis - Emerging Trends, Growth Opportunities, Competitive Landscape, and Forecasts (2025 - 2032)

Agricultural Micronutrients Market Trends & Drivers

Farmland Consolidation and Horticulture Expansion Are Major Trends

• The agricultural sector has witnessed an array of changes in recent times. During the last decade, there has been substantial increase in horticulture and production of high value crop such as fruits, nuts, and vegetables.
• Horticulture crops also utilize greater quantities of such nutrients per hectare than other agronomic crops.
• Additionally, the agricultural sector has witnessed consolidation of farmlands, providing the necessary impetus, such as capital for raw materials and means to apply micronutrients, which were previously non-existent.
• Additionally, in congruence, in advanced economies, pastoralists and farmers have recognized the importance of optimized micronutrient management practices, which can improve disease resistance in plants and minimize application of fungicides and pesticides to combat crop failure.
• This earmarks a trend toward recognizing the potential value generated by application of it in the economies.
• In relation to micronutrients, the agriculture sector has seen technological developments that allow farmers to apply micronutrients in combination with herbicides or fungicides.
• Other factors include the development of precision bulk blending and granular-coating techniques and technologies that enable the monitoring of farmlands to identify soil health.
• These factors have contributed in improving the ease of application, lowering costs, and realizing the advantages of using supplements to boost the agronomic economy.

Increasing Food Demand with Population Growth Drives Market

• According to the Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), the global population was 8.2 billion in 2024, and it is expected to reach nearly 10.3 billion by the mid-2080s.
• This additional population, of nearly 2.1 billion individuals, is expected to create fresh demand for food crops, horticulture crops, and cash crops in the coming years.
• Additionally, the spillover effects caused by this increased population would include increased pressure to improve volume of crops produced and yield of agricultural farmlands and related installations.
• The major scalable solution to maximize yield and crop productivity comprise increasing area under cultivation of crops or maximize yield from existing farmlands.
• The global land use trend paints a sordid outlook in relation to the former solution.
• The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), a United Nations agency, reported that the global arable land was 4.9 billion hectares in 2000, 4.8 billion hectares in 2021, and 4.7 billion hectares in 2022, showcasing a gradual reduction of around 100 million hectares each decade.
• Furthermore, arable land per person shrank from 0.23 hectares in 2000 to 0.2 hectares in 2021, and it will reduce further to 0.15 hectares by 2050.
• This is attributed to a number of factors such as degradation of agricultural land, shrinking farm incomes, and exodus of farmers and pastoralists to other ways of securing livelihoods.
• These host of factors contribute to create a need for the optimum utilization of existing farmlands and maximize farm yield.
• Advancements in farm management and technology can be viewed as a key solution to this conundrum.
• A key area for agricultural growers has been to limit potential barrier for crop growth such as micronutrient deficiencies. The deficiencies can cause plant abnormalities (stunted growth) and reduce crop yield, thereby compromising crop productivity and farm income.
• This, in turn, is expected to increase the use of agricultural micronutrients and will contribute to their market growth during the forecast period.

Agricultural Micronutrients Market Segmentation Analysis

Crop Type Analysis

In 2024, cereals and grains were the largest category in terms of value, contributing a share of 50%. With increasing global population and shrinking arable land, there is an increased pressure to maximize crop yield, primarily, production of cereals and grains from existing farmlands. There is a need to improve productivity, but it is further hindered due to micronutrient deficiencies in plants and correspondingly, bio-magnification in food chain. These factors play a major role in improving plant growth and edaphic qualities of soil, and are thereby, expected to steer the demand in the coming years.

Furthermore, the increasing demand for cereals and grains, which are driven by increasing population and an ever-diversifying nutritional needs of population, is likely to propel the adoption rates for micronutrients thus boost the growth during the forecast period.

The fruits and vegetables category is expected to exhibit the fastest growth over the forecast period, in terms of value. The consumption of fruits and vegetables is increasing, owing to the growing global population, thereby driving the market, as micronutrients are widely used for their optimum growth. In this regard, the growing practice of horticulture is a major drier for the market. As per the Press Information Bureau, India witnessed horticultural production of 351.92 million tonnes in 2022–23, which was 4.74 million tonnes, or 1.37% more than in 2021–22.

These crop types were analyzed:

• Cereals and Grains (Largest Category)
• Fruits and Vegetables (Fastest-Growing Category)
• Oilseeds and Pulses
• Others

Application Mode Analysis

The soil category accounted for the largest share in 2024. The mode of application through soil is preferred due to the ease of application, low requirement of advanced machinery (such as sprays and drippers), and easy incorporation into fertilizers.

Furthermore, application via soil has a large number of economic advantages to farmlands and agricultural installations by reducing the time taken in in the application process. This is due to relative ease of application in the plants in developmental phase over application in fully-grown plants. Thereby, the application via soil category is likely to be propelled by numerous factors and is expected to also witness growth in the forecast period.

The fertigation category would exhibit the fastest revenue growth in the agricultural micronutrients market during the forecast period, of 9%.

These application modes are covered:

• Soil (Largest Category)
• Fertigation (Fastest-Growing Category)
• Foliar
• Others

Type Analysis

Zinc held the largest share in 2024, of 45%. The demand for zinc is majorly driven by its potential value that helps in increasing plant growth, improving disease control, and increasing crop yield in a wide array of agronomic crops such as rice (Oryza sativa), bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), maize (Zea mays), potato (Solanum tuberosum l.), sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), and soybean (Glycine max). Additionally, research indicates that the rate of protein synthesis and protein content of zinc-deficient plants are lower than zinc-neutral counterparts.

The molybdenum category will witness the fastest growth during the forecast period. This nutrient facilitates and fixation of nitrogen and a number of enzymatic functions in plants. As a result, the consumption of molybdenum is growing in regions that account for high outputs of leguminous crops, such as Brazil, the U.S., India, Canada, and Argentina.

These types have been studied:

• Zinc (Largest Category)
• Iron
• Boron
• Molybdenum (Fastest-Growing Category)
• Manganese
• Others

Form Factor Analysis

The non-chelated category accounted for the largest revenue share in 2024. Non-chelated agricultural micronutrients are more economical than other types, which results in their higher consumption, particularly in countries such as China, India, and Indonesia.

The HBED category is expected to witness the fastest growth, in terms of revenue, during the forecast period, of 10%. This can be attributed to the higher stability of HBED than any other chelating agent and lower sensitivity to ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Additionally, such products do not contain any isomer, and hence the micronutrient content bonded with HBED is always fully available for the plant.

These form factors have been studied:

• Ethylenediaminetetraacetic Acid (EDTA)
• Diethylenetriaminepentaacetic Acid (DTPA)
• Ethylenediamine-N,N'-bis(2-hydroxyphenylacetic acid) (EDDHA)
• Non-Chelated (Largest Category)
• N,N′-bis(2-hydroxyphenyl)ethylendiamine-N,N′-diacetic acid (HBED) (Fastest-Growing Category)
• Others

Agricultural Micronutrients Market Regional Outlook

Globally, APAC accounted for the largest share, in terms of value, in 2024, of 45%. This can be ascribed to increased application in countries such as India and China. Initiatives by governments and agrochemical manufacturers in these countries are likely to create awareness and augment product adoption among the local farmers. In coherence to same, different departments of government of India have launched numerous policies, such as subsidies on fortified seeds (seeds pre-coated with boron and zinc), initiation of SHCs, and regularization of contract farming. In the long run, these factors are likely to drive demand in the region.

As per a research study by the World Bank, India has highest levels of zinc and iron deficiency levels, globally. Further the report predicts, rising levels of carbon dioxide from human actions are making crops like wheat and rice less nutritious and this could result in 175 million population becoming zinc deficient and 122 million protein deficient by 2050, as per a research led by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Around 50 million people in India are expected to become zinc deficient by 2050.

The addition of micronutrients to the soil are argued to counter these deficiencies. Recent regulations and government initiatives aimed at educating farmers and inculcating the addition of such nutrients to their farming practices is expected to encourage adoption rates of these chemicals in the region. In order to provide wholesome plant nutrition, the APAC region is expected to rely on these supplements.

The regions and countries analyzed for this report include:

• North America
  • U.S. (Larger and Faster-Growing Country Market)
  • Canada
• Europe
  • Germany (Largest Country Market)
  • U.K.
  • France (Fastest-Growing Country Market)
  • Italy
  • Spain
  • Rest of Europe
• Asia-Pacific (APAC) (Largest and Fastest-Growing Regional Market)
  • China (Largest Country Market)
  • Japan
  • India (Fastest-Growing Country Market)
  • South Korea
  • Australia
  • Rest of APAC
• Latin America (LATAM)
  • Brazil (Largest Country Market)
  • Mexico (Fastest-Growing Country Market)
  • Rest of LATAM
• Middle East and Africa (MEA)
  • Saudi Arabia (Largest Country Market)
  • South Africa
  • U.A.E. (Fastest-Growing Country Market)
  • Rest of MEA

Agricultural Micronutrients Market Share

• The market is severely fragmented as agricultural micronutrients are common products, having being around for decades.
• Hence, a large number of small, regional and local firms compete with well-established global chemical companies.
• The biggest reason for the significant presence of small players is the absence of any standard regulations for these products.
• Moreover, most users in developing countries are small farmers, who buy the cost-effective products offered by local and regional firms.
• Further, a wide variety of micronutrients in various form factors are needed for plants, and no company offers everything.