Facts and figures – The status of global agriculture
1.7 billion more mouths to feed by 2030; the ratio of arable land to population declining by 40-55%; 1.8 billion people living with absolute water scarcity by 2025. These are a few of the key factors affecting the future of agriculture. At CropLife International, we work together for sustainable agriculture. The technologies offered by the plant science industry have a long history in improving agriculture and a critical role to play in meeting the challenges in a growing world – from tripling yields and reducing soil erosion to crops that can grow in saline soils and rice that requires less water. Explore the facts and figures of the plant science industry and global agriculture. View publication (June 2008).
Previous facts and figures
Global market overview 2005
Conventional crop protection market
In 2005 the market value for conventional crop protection products rose by 1.5% in nominal US dollar value to reach $31,190 million.
When the effects of trade weighted inflation and currency exchange factors are excluded, the global crop protection market value in 2005 declined 2.5%.
Real Growth Rates for the Global Crop Protection Market
The decrease in value of the crop protection sector in real terms in 2005 was predominantly due to adverse weather affects resulting in a reduction in product usage. Similar factors depressed the market in 2003, whilst overall conditions in 2004 were more favourable.
One of the key factors that contributed to the evolution of the conventional crop protection market in 2005 was a depression in crop commodity prices following excellent harvests in the US and Europe in 2004. This factor along with rising energy and fertiliser costs adversely affected the planted area of most major crops.
In 2005, fungicides again led market growth at the product sector level. Higher sales in fruit and vegetable markets were somewhat offset by weakness in the Brazilian Asian soybean rust segment. Herbicides benefited from growth in developing markets, but were again affected by the uptake of herbicide tolerant crops and glyphosate price erosion in the USA.
The weakest results were recorded by the insecticides sector with sales affected by low pest pressure following adverse weather in Asia, and further uptake of insect resistant crops, including those with new traits in existing markets and further geographical expansion.
Plant biotechnology market
In 2005 the value of the market for plant biotechnology based products, comprising sales of seed of herbicide tolerant (HT) and insect resistant (IR) crops, advanced by 12.7% to $5,296 million.
Growth of the Biotech Seed Market
Overall the area of crop varieties planted with biotechnology derived traits reached 90.0 million hectares (222.4 million acres) during 2005, an increase of approximately 11% over 2004.
Biotech Seed Market by Crop
The largest share of the biotech crop sector is attributable to herbicide tolerant varieties that represented over 58% of the value of the sector in 2005. A major factor in 2005 was a move towards stacked gene varieties of maize and cotton.
Biotech Seed Market by Trait
The market for biotech crops is expected to continue to expand, both through the adoption of advanced traits and uptake in further country markets, particularly in Asia. Further uptake of biotech maize and cotton is anticipated to increase the share of this technology in Latin American markets in the immediate term.
Source: Phillips McDougall 2006