Formic Acid Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Application, Regional Outlook, Competitive Strategies, And Segment Forecasts, 2019 To 2025

The global formic acid market is anticipated to witness significant growth over the forecast period on account of increasing application scope in various end-use industries including leather, textile, rubber, chemical, pharmaceutical, and agriculture. Rising demand for preservative and antibacterial agents in cattle feed is expected to augment the market growth over the forecast period. Rubber and leather industry is anticipated to be the fastest-growing application segment owing to rising demand for tires and consumer goods in Asia Pacific. However, the agriculture segment is expected to witness the largest demand on account of the increasing use of animal feed additives. Superior antibacterial properties further fuel the industry demand in the aforementioned applications. Growing health and safety concerns, ban on the use of antibiotics in the animal feedstock, and increasing consumption of poultry & meat products are anticipated to propel the market over the next seven years.

However, emerging cost-effective substitutes including microflora enhancers and peptides are expected to restrict the formic acid market growth. Product diversification and implementation of advanced technology in feed acidifier segment including coatings and encapsulations is poised to provide growth avenues over the next seven years. Additionally, environmental acceptability, high quality, and favorable legislation & regulations are expected to positively influence the market scenario over the next seven years.

Asia Pacific formic acid market is anticipated to grow at a fast pace over the forecast period owing to increasing demand in rubber, agriculture, leather & textile industries in China and India. Lower capital and labor costs along with the rapidly growing market in China are expected to draw high investments from major players. The agricultural segment is poised to lead the market owing to rising demand from various regions coupled with supportive government regulations. EPA approval for use of formic acid as an active ingredient in pesticides for MITE TM (EPA Reg No 61671-3) and Mite-away II (EPA Reg No 75710-1) is expected to create growth opportunities over the forecast period.

Expansions and investments play a major role in market growth. Rising investments in formic acid development across the value chain from suppliers to end-use industries is expected to positively impact market growth over the forecast period. BASF opened a new formic acid production facility at Louisiana to cater to the North and South American markets with an annual capacity of 50,000 tons. As of 2014, Taminco acquired the formic acid business unit of Kemira Oyj to facilitate niche business segment expansion. The rising number of patent registrations by the major market players including Perstorp Ab for “Apparatus for the production of formic acid” and by Basf Aktiengesellschaft for “Preparation of formic acid” are anticipated to provide a competitive edge over other participants such as Feicheng Acid Chemicals Co. Ltd., Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers & Chemicals Ltd., and Verdugt BV.