Fertilizer Additives Market By Form (Granular, Prilled, Powdered), By Additive Type (Dust Control, Anti- Caking Agent, Antifoam Agent, Granulation Aids, Colorants, Corrosion Inhibitors, Hydrophobing Agents), By End-Use (Mono Ammonium Phosphate, Triple Super Phosphate, Urea, Diammonium Phosphate, Ammonium Nitrate, Potassium Magnesium Sulfate, Others) - Growth, Future Prospects & Competitive Analysis, 2017 – 2025

Fertilizer additives are compounds added in the fertilizers to stimulate their quality and productivity. The demand for fertilizer additives is stimulated by the surging demand for improved agricultural yields, followed by the need of primary nutrients and high quality of fertilizers. Fertilizer additives enhance the stability, quality of fertilizers and soil, by avoiding the loss of nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and sulfur. Additionally, these additive are also used for impeding urea hydrolysis, nitrification, or ammonia loss from soil. Nitrogen fertilizer additives are chemicals added to liquid or water soluble fertilizers so as to enhance the time of contact of nitrogen with soil. This process is beneficial for the efficient nutrient management practices and is increasingly practiced by farmers willing to spend more on agricultural productivity.

The market is poised to grow due to rising demand for fertilizers worldwide. Other factors responsible for market growth are shrinking arable land and growing population which demand excessive use of fertilizers, which in turn catapults the market growth. Additives are developed to perform certain actions such as anti-caking, corrosion inhibitor, antifoaming, hydrophobic, coloring, and others. Blend of additives are used during the storage and transportation of fertilizers to prevent the formation of lumps (caking) in fertilizers, because of fluctuating storage temperatures. 

In addition to it, accumulation of dust at times of storage, on fertilizer bags results in degrading its quality. To overcome this issue, industry players have launched certain anti-dusting additives in order to prevent the loss of essential nutrients. For instance, Clariant innovated additives such as Flotigam and Fertala which offer high dust binding properties and therefore, highly used in the market. However, stringent government regulations and adverse agrochemical effects on human health hinder the market growth. Additionally, rapid growth of the organic fertilizers couple with the environmental impact of chemical fertilizers are some of the other factors projected to restrain market development.  

Fertilizer additives market is segmented on the basis of geography into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Middle East & Africa. In 2016, Asia Pacific accounted for more than half of the market share owing to continuous growth of agriculture sector in countries such as India and China. In countries such as India, around 70% of the population is reliant on agriculture and related activities as their source of income. Latin America is also projected to rise in the near future due to surging demand for agricultural commodities on account of decreasing arable land. However, region such as North America and Europe are projected to witness sluggish growth owing to emergence of certain regulations such as prohibition over the use of ammonium nitrate fertilizer in these regions.

Some of the key players profiled in the market include Clariant, KAO Coporation, Amit Trading Ltd., Novochem Group, Filtra Catalyst and Chemicals, Ltd., Tata Chemicals, Ltd., Coromandel International Limited, Arrmaz, Chemipol, Forbon Technology and other notable players.

On the basis of its end-use, the global fertilizer additives market is categorized into following segments:

• Mono Ammonium Phosphate
• Triple Super Phosphate
• Urea
• Diammonium Phosphate
• Ammonium Nitrate
• Potassium Magnesium Sulfate
• Others

In 2016, urea accounted for the maximum share of the market and is also expected to witness highest growth rate during the forecast period. Urea is the most widely used nitrogen fertilizer in agriculture but suffers high nitrogen loss when applied on soil due to volatilization of ammonia (NH3). Additionally, ammonia loss from the soil surface is also due to other factors such as humidity, temperature, presence of crop residues which stimulate urea activity in the soil. Therefore, anticaking additives owing to its dust binding properties are added at the initial phase of urea production, in granules form which inhibit ammonia volatilization and nitrate leaching. The growing use of these additives during the production stage of fertilizer as well as over the field is expected to be a major factor for market growth.

Ammonium nitrate is expected to witness major growth owing to its cost effectiveness which has also increased its popularity among farmers. However, ammonium nitrate rapidly absorbs moisture owing to its hygroscopic properties which reduces its mechanical strength and increases chances of dust formation. This phenomena results in caking of the fertilizer leading to formation of solid lumps supplemented by major economic losses. Therefore, granulation/nodulation aids are added to ammonium nitrate and calcium ammonium nitrate fertilizers to improve the recycling of oversized particles into fine particles and further improving the yield. Therefore, aforementioned factors are bound to surge the market in coming years.  

Based on geographical distribution, the global fertilizer additives market is segmented into following regions and countries:-

• North America
  • U.S.
  • Canada
• Europe
  • Germany
  • Spain
  • France
  • UK
  • Rest of Europe
• Asia Pacific
  • Japan
  • China
  • India
  • Rest of Asia Pacific
• Latin America
  • Brazil
  • Mexico
  • Rest of Latin America
• Middle East & Africa
  • GCC
  • Rest of Middle East & Africa

In 2016, Asia-Pacific was the most dominant region in the fertilizer additives market as the economy of countries such as China and India is dominated by agriculture and agro based industries. In addition to it, rising population in multiple countries in this region has created immense pressure on farmers and respective governments to enhance crops production. Apart from this, abundance of cheap labor, rising governmental initiatives such as incentive and subsidies along with growing awareness regarding the benefits of fertilizer additives has further paved the demand of the product in this region. Asia-Pacific fertilizer additive market also offers lucrative opportunities for key investors to set up their facilities in this region, due to rising demand for food grains in this region.

North America and Europe fertilizer additives market is projected to grow in the near future, as these region is witnessing resurgence in the agriculture sector. Moreover, growing nutrient management practices is expected to increase the demand for fertilizer additives henceforth. However, market is expected to rise rapidly in Africa due to decreasing arable land which in turn is poised to fuel the use of fertilizer additives in this region.