The amino acid based biostimulants includes all components such as amino acids, among others. These components are prepared by using certain sources that do not contain chemicals, due to which the food products produced in the agricultural field do not cause health issues after consumption. Increasing demand for sustainable agricultural practices is the major driving factor for amino acid based biostimulants in the fertilizer sector. This is found to be an alternative to chemical fertilizers and farmers are now more inclined towards safe and harmless products.
COVID-19 IMPACT ON DEMAND
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to consumers' significant boom in demand for sustainable and organic foods. The pandemic raised consumer awareness regarding health and chemical-free food as organic and chemical pesticide-free food is being viewed as safer and healthier. As a result, sustainable agricultural practices are becoming extremely critical, especially since the onset of COVID-19 outbreak, leading to a surge in demand for amino acid based biostimulants across the globe.
Therefore, due to the rising demand for amino acid based biostimulants, major manufacturers across the globe started implementing strategic initiatives to expand their presence.
For instance,
- In March 2020, SICIT Group and Syngenta collaborated to promote their sustainable products focusing on sustainable agriculture. This collaboration was done mainly on focus for biostimulants, a booming product in the market in the fertilizer sector. This in the future may help the company strengthen its footprint in the market.
- The multinational Symborg strengthened its role as a manufacturer of biotechnological solutions with the opening of its new factory and the launch of Balius, the new biostimulant based on amino acids designed and produced by Symborg. Balius is composed of pure alfa-keratin, is 100% sustainable, and compatible with all types of agriculture, both traditional and organic.
- In February 2018, UK based biotechnology company AminoA Biostimulants officially launched their new liquid range of biostimulant products. AminoA FLO is a highly concentrated l-isomer amino-acid complex developed for the large arable farmer. It contains synthetics and the latest crop penetrant technology to make it suitable for mixing with other agrochemicals.
There was no negative impact on the demand for fertilizers such as biostimulants. However, there were adverse effects on the supply of amino acid based biostimulants. Like other sectors, manufacturers of amino acid based biostimulants suffered from lack of available transportation, bottlenecks and restrictions at country borders, and price gouging by transport companies. Furthermore, manufacturers shut their facilities due to government restrictions and health precautions. However, the facilities were gradually reopened with strict measures, and reopening in the transportation facilities led to increasing demand for the amino acid based biostimulants manufacturer, which drove the market growth. This is because agricultural commodities are the essential products that were exempted from extreme restrictions by governments across the globe.
IMPACT ON PRICE OF PLANT AMINO ACID BASED BIOSTIMULANTS
The COVID-19 positively impacts the price of amino acid based biostimulants due to the increasing demand for safe and quality agricultural food. The prices of amino acid based biostimulants were increased in pandemic due to high demand, which indeed helped the market grow.
BIOSTIMULANTS MANUFACTURERS: PERSPECTIVE & INITIATIVES
The outbreak of COVID-19 has brought the world to a halt where each and every industry has impacted it. This crisis has brought to an unexpected situation everyone is going through. With such an unscrupulous situation, everyone is trying to get over it. In all, the product industry has fallen badly due to COVID-19 at the start of 2020. But rising support from several companies and governments is helping the industry rebuild its position again in the market.
Various companies and brands have shown a significant growth in their first-quarter revenue considering the COVID-19 as challenging and have stated that the second quarter of the company will be quite challenging in terms of organic growth of revenue and the factor influencing such as currency exchange rate uncertainty, shortage of raw material and their supply chain,
For instance,
"FMC delivered another quarter of above-market growth, against an industry-leading comparison from last year, which increased up to 7%.”
"We effectively navigated the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic during the quarter. Our global operations, supply chain, and commercial teams worked diligently to ensure customers had timely access to critical crop protection products through the quarter. We believe the second quarter will present the most challenging and uncertain conditions related to COVID-19 and currencies despite forecasting solid organic growth. FX will be a strong headwind at a time of year when price increases are the most difficult to implement,"
Pierre Brondeau, CEO of FMC Corporation.
Lack in the transportation of fertilizers to the growers is one of the major causes of uncertainty in food production. Hence, Yara Company has committed to fulfill the need for the fertilization globally and taken the initiative to reach their client through specific transportation worldwide.
“Yara can contribute to increasing food security in vulnerable communities. The Action Africa initiative has many milestones to come and I am convinced that we have only seen the beginning. The total impact of this will go far beyond what we first envisioned.”
Pablo Barrera Lopez, Executive Vice President Strategy & Communications., Yara International
The shortage of the growth promoters and fertilizers have hit hard the agricultural sector, due to the long time lockdown, shortage in supply chain of the raw materials and lack of transportation intrastate and ban of international travels have disrupted the distribution of fertilizers to the farmers.
Conclusion
Pandemic has taken a toll on every aspect of life, including the global economy. With the significant downfalls in many sectors, a collaborative effort of government, industry players, and consumers can win the fight against COVID-19. The general public health measures include awareness about home isolation, keeping up with the food and medical supplies, particularly for underprivileged people, is carefully followed by governments worldwide. Consumer awareness about high immunity has become a legitimate concern during these pandemic circumstances.
Consumers have been shifting their buying presences from offline to online retails to maintain social distancing. Lockdown, mostly all over the world, has resulted in disruption in the supply and demand chain. All sectors, including amino acid based biostimulants, have to suffer from various problems such as labor unavailability, inability to access markets, and lack of resources and raw material. However, the situation improves as the restrictions have been lifted in many countries, and the supply chain issues have been sorted out. Therefore, the amino acid based biostimulants market is supposed to grow significantly in the coming years due to the improved supply chain.
