AgroPages-Microbials is the 'Next Big Category' within Biologicals-Agricultural news

Report

Agricultural Microbials Market by Type (bacteria, fungi, virus, and protozoa), Crop Type (Cereals & grains, oilseeds, & pulses, fruit & vegetable) & Region - Global Trends & Forecast to 2019

A new report from the Rabobank Food & Agribusiness Research and Advisory group finds that the microbials market has grown exponentially during the last six years.

“After natural products, microbials is the next big category within biologicals in terms of market size,” said a news release from Rabobank. “It currently represents a market of close to USD 652m (2014)—comprising 29% of the total biologicals market globally—but can potentially become a market double that size,” according to RaboResearch’s report, “Microbials: A Market Set to Double in Size.”

“There are several triggers underlying the predicted growth of the microbials market,” said Vaishali Chopra, Analyst Farm Inputs at Rabobank. “One major trigger is stricter regulation surrounding chemical pesticides. These regulations mean that an increased number of chemicals are under regulatory scrutiny. This, along with a high hit rate in the screening and development of microbials, make microbials more attractive than conventional pesticides when it comes to launching new products in the market. Biological products also have an advantage when it comes to regulatory costs and timelines, which will play to their advantage in the advancement of the sector. All of the above lead us to expect continuous action and interest from private-sector players in the microbial biological sector over the next three years.”

Rabobank noted that some companies that are active in R&D and are backed up with scalable manufacturing facilities in the biological segment will receive interest from conventional crop-protection companies, bigger biological players and private equity firms, becoming potential targets.

“The kind of valuations they attract will be a function of their registered products, size of the sector they operate in, patents obtained and innovative technology. What emerges is an attractive potential market, with both complementary and replacement biological products,” said the report.