Controlled-Release Fertilizers Market Analysis, Market Size, Application Analysis, Regional Outlook, Competitive Strategies, And Segment Forecasts, 2015 To 2022

Increasing global food demand along with a decline in arable land is expected to be a key factor driving controlled-release fertilizer growth over the next seven years. High end-use efficiency coupled with minimum wastage is also contributing controlled-release fertilizers demand particularly in Asia Pacific and Central & South America. Ease of application associated with controlled-release fertilizers is anticipated to increase the demand over the foreseeable future. Government support in the form of tax credits and incentives coupled with increasing private sector investments and venture funding is expected to augment controlled-release fertilizers market growth over the forecast period. Increased nutrients use efficiency with minimum nutrient losses achieved by employing controlled-release fertilizers is anticipated to fuel market growth in the foreseeable future. Reduced toxicity and environmental hazards, particularly to seedlings, is anticipated to drive controlled-release fertilizers market growth over the forecast period. High cost associated with controlled-release fertilizer use and storage limitations is expected to negatively affect market growth over the forecast period. Production complexities and salt accumulation in the soil are presumed to hinder controlled-release fertilizer market growth over the next few years. The dominance of conventional fertilizers owing to government subsidies over the past few years is expected to be a major challenge to controlled-release fertilizers over the next seven years.

North America dominated the global controlled-release fertilizers market over the past few years and is expected to witness stagnant growth over the forecast period owing to the mature agricultural sector. The U.S. was the leading consumer market for controlled-release fertilizers in the region followed by Canada. Asia Pacific is anticipated to be the fastest controlled-release fertilizers regional market over the forecast period owing to the high level of technological advancements in the agricultural sector particularly in economies such as Japan, India, and China. Japan is expected to emerge as a leading consumer market for controlled-release fertilizers over the foreseeable future. Japanese farmers prefer practices that reduce both the amount of fertilizer and their labor owing to smaller farms and their involvement in other occupations. This is expected to augment controlled-release fertilizers demand in the region. Excellent results on rice crops achieved by controlled-release fertilizers are anticipated to be another factor driving the controlled-release fertilizers growth in Japan. Favorable initiatives taken by various Japanese institutions such as the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishery are further expected to bolster controlled-release fertilizers demand in the country over the foreseeable future. China and India are expected to show considerable growth over the next seven years owing to increasing government support and consumer awareness regarding the use of fertilizers to increase yield. Additionally, the decline in per hectare agricultural land availability in countries such as India as a result of increasing commercial spaces is expected to positively impact controlled-release fertilizers demand over the next few years.

Controlled-release fertilizers have been categorized on the basis of crop type as cereals & oilseeds, turf & ornaments, and fruits & vegetables. Turf & ornaments was the leading application segment in 2014 followed by cereals & oilseeds and fruits & vegetables owing to large scale turf production in lawns, greenhouses, nurseries, and gardens. Europe was the largest consumer of controlled-release fertilizers on turf and is expected to continue over the forecast period owing to a large number of nurseries and greenhouses in the region.

The global controlled-release fertilizers market is moderately fragmented on account of the presence of several regional players which comprises the majority share in the industry. Key players operating in the global controlled-release fertilizer market include companies such as Scotts Miracle-Gro, Israel Chemicals Ltd., and Sociedad Quimica y Minera (SQM) S.A. Other players in the market include companies such as Mitsubishi Chemicals, Compo GmbH, Haifa Chemicals Ltd, Yara International ASA, and Chisso Asahi Kasai Chemicals. Major companies operating in the global market have been involved in increasing global presence by strategic alliances. For instance, Mitsubishi Chemicals and Chisso Asahi Kasai Chemicals signed a joint venture agreement for their affiliates Chisso Asahi Fertlizer Co. and Mitsubishi Chemical Agri., Inc. The new company is called JCAM Agri Co., Ltd., and started operations in October 2009. Application-specific product development is another major trend observed in the market over the past few years. The aforementioned trends are anticipated to continue over the next few years. The global controlled-release fertilizer market is at infancy and market participants are continually aiming at increasing market share by either product development or forming strategic alliances.