Pakistan Crop Protection Chemicals Market - Growth, Trends, and Forecasts (2023-2028)

Key Highlights

• The Pakistani crop protection chemicals market is projected to register a CAGR of 8.5% during the forecast period.
• The increase in the need for food security, owing to the rapidly increasing population in the country coupled with farmers adopting integrated pest management techniques is driving the market’s growth in the country. According to UN DESA, the population of Pakistan in 2020 reached 220.89 million which increased from 216.57 million in 2019. Also, severe crop losses are due to the spread of pests, which, in turn, puts pressure on farmers to use crop protection chemicals. Many farmers in the southeast region of Pakistan expect an impending locust attack when summer crops of cotton, sugarcane, and rice are being sown, and fruit and vegetables are ready to be picked. For instance, in 2021, the desert locust upsurge had a major impact on Pakistan's agriculture, with swarms causing immense damage to all types of crops.
• Similarly, many other crops have also been prone to different insects which are supporting the market’s growth. For instance, Pakistan is the fifth-largest cotton producer in the world and farmers have feared a loss in cotton crops, owing to expected high temperature, whitefly (Bemisia tabaci) attack, and heavy monsoon rains. High temperature is a favorable atmosphere for the whitefly, which inflicts big damage to cotton, and proper insecticides to prevent whitefly attack is not available easily in the market.

Pakistan Crop Protection Chemicals Market Trends

Insecticides are Leading the Market

The insecticides segment leads the crop protection chemicals market in Pakistan. Synthetic insecticides capture the major share of the insecticides market in Pakistan, while bio-insecticides cover the rest. One of the widely used insecticides is against whitefly, a common pest for cotton in Pakistan. Movento, developed by Bayer Crop Science, is one of the selling insecticides to prevent whitefly infestation in cotton. The two-way systemic movement of the insecticide makes it popular among cotton farmers in Pakistan. Corn, rice, and wheat are the major crops treated with insecticides in the cereals and grains segment. Since cereals are grown almost everywhere, the demand for insecticides is high, and this trend is expected to continue in the future.

Moreover, owing to the demand, major players are increasing their investments in Research and Development (R&D) in the agricultural sector which has led to continued product innovation and product launches in the country, which is further driving the crop protection chemicals market growth. For instance, in April 2021, “HANARO”, a brand name of Bistrifluron 10%EC of FarmHannong, was launched for managing whitefly, the main problematic insect in cotton cultivation in Pakistan.

Along with this, due to the increased demand for insecticides, local production is not sufficient and thus, giving rise to imports. As a result of this, the imports of insecticides in Pakistan increased by 17.1% from 2020 to 2021. Therefore, these factors are responsible for the growth of the insecticides segment.

Increasing Arable land

Agriculture is one of the major sectors which contributes a major share of Pakistan’s economy. According to World Bank data, agriculture contributes to 22.96% of the country’s GDP. Along with this, the population is growing on a large scale. For instance, according to International Monetary Fund, the population of Pakistan is 218 million in 2020 which raised to 225 million in 2021. Therefore, to satisfy the raising population, the land under agriculture needs to increase the production of crops in the country. According to FAO, the arable land in 2020 is 13.8 million hectares which went up to 14.0 million hectares in 2021.

Furthermore, some important crops in Pakistan include wheat, cotton, paddy, sugarcane, and vegetables, and the area under them is increasing rapidly. But the productivity in Pakistan is hampered by insects, diseases, and weeds, which causes losses ranging up to 50%. The pests like whitefly pose a serious threat to cotton and other vegetable crops, distressing agricultural productivity, and national food security. Pest suppression with synthetic chemicals is the quickest and surest method of eliminating them. So, to reduce the yield gap insecticides and pesticides are used on a large scale. According to NIH, it was found that, compared to the worldwide average, Pakistan had a high consumption of pesticides, with an increase of 1169% in the last two decades.

Moreover, owing to this high pest incidence and increased demand for crop protection chemicals, many major players are launching new products to grab the major market share. For instance, in February 2021, Engro Fertilizers and BASF entered a strategic partnership to launch SefinaTM insecticide by BASF in Pakistan. Therefore, the increase in arable land and the raise in the incidence of pests in the crops are anticipated to contribute to the growth of the market in the country.

Pakistan Crop Protection Chemicals Market Competitor Analysis

The Pakistani crop protection chemicals market is consolidated, with few players occupying a major portion of the market with diverse and expanding product portfolios. Syngenta Pakistan, Bayer Crop Science, Four Brothers Group, UPL Limited, Syngenta Pakistan, and FMC Corporation are the major players in the market.

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• The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format
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