Wuliang Ecological Agriculture biostimulants become a major highlight in the agricultural inputs sector
Recently, biostimulants have once again become the darling in the eyes of experts from academia, scientific research fields, and market analysis institutions.
Remember this classic commentary -
In 2016, a mysterious category of products was frequently mentioned in the agricultural inputs sector;
In various value-added and efficiency-enhancing fertilizers, it repeatedly appeared, yet remained mysteriously silent;
Mysterious pricing, with astonishing price gaps, the market situation is like viewing flowers through mist;
A mysterious market, with enormous potential, major fertilizer companies rushing to add it;
Mysterious mechanisms, used in very small amounts, yet the effects are unexpected;
It can be called the blue ocean of agricultural inputs in the era of quality and efficiency improvement.
That's right, this is biostimulants!
A professor from the College of Resources and Environmental Sciences at China Agricultural University, when analyzing fertilizer research directions, proposed that biostimulant products such as humic acid, seaweed acid, and amino acids will become indispensable important components of organic water-soluble fertilizers, to increase biodiversity and thereby promote crop health.
The head of the National Chemical Fertilizer Information Center reported that they are personally experiencing the growing call for biostimulant products within the industry, and China is very likely to become the largest market for biostimulant applications in the future.
Why are biostimulants so highly regarded?
First, let's look at how big the biostimulant market is.
Everyone is estimating this data, because statistical scopes differ and methods vary, so there is no unified figure. But in any case, it is not small.
●In 2012, the global market was at least 800 million euros, with Europe at approximately 200 million to 400 million euros.
●Currently, the global market value is approximately 1.3 billion USD, Europe approximately 500 million euros, and China approximately 200 million USD.
●By 2020, the global market reached 2-3 billion USD, with China at 400 million to 500 million USD.
By comparison, biostimulants already have a mature market in Europe. But for China, everyone is being exposed to them yet has never truly understood them.
Now let's look at the effects claimed by biostimulant products currently on the market
●A comprehensive organic growth promoter
●Guarantees at least two weeks of trace element supply and greening
●Produces larger, deeper root systems
●1 kilogram is equivalent to 30 tons of manure
●A biological catalyst for soil, amendments, and plants
●Improves seed germination rate and vigor
●Enhances plants' natural resistance to pests and diseases
●For China, the market is still in the process of accepting the concept.
Plant biostimulants, plant growth promoters, plant protectants, bioactive agents, soil amendments... one category of products, one market, several concepts. "Are they all the same?" The reporter has heard this question countless times from friends in the agricultural inputs circle.
Even so, the explosive growth trend of biostimulants is already unstoppable.
First, foreign products are entering the domestic market on a large scale. In April of this year alone, according to publicly reported media coverage, several international agrochemical giants announced their entry into China's biostimulant market with their latest products, including SQM, Valagro, Syngenta, and Biobizz.
Although domestic products lack a unified concept, biostimulant-type products are already faintly visible in many familiar fertilizers. Well-known ones in the industry include seaweed fertilizer, various biological bacterial fertilizers, zinc humic acid urea, and Wuliang Yun alcoholsu, Wuliang biological organic fertilizer fermentation agent, and others recently launched by Guangzhou Wuliang Ecological Agriculture Development Co., Ltd., to which biostimulants have been added.
What are the factors driving the growth of biostimulants?
Chen Jiqiang, a senior agricultural technician with national first-class professional qualifications at the Central South Agricultural Science Institute, stated that the first factor is the demand of the broader agricultural environment: excessive application of chemical fertilizers, resource depletion; food security and crop yield increases encountering bottlenecks; market demand for high-quality agricultural products; accelerating damage to the agricultural ecological environment; and the demand for rapid development of green agriculture.
The second factor is the effects of biostimulants themselves. On this point, the academic assessment is that biostimulants are of organic origin and are non-toxic and harmless to the environment.
In the reporter's view, the development difficulties currently faced by the agricultural inputs industry are also one of the driving factors behind the growth of biostimulants. A person in charge of a water-soluble fertilizer company from Guangdong Biaodefu Functional Fertilizer told the reporter that whether a product more adaptable to market demand can be found is almost a matter of life and death for the enterprise.
Who can open up this potential market?
While most people are still surrounded by unfamiliarity, confusion, and doubt, unbeknownst to them, the European and American markets are already thriving, and a group of savvy domestic enterprises are also opening up this potential market...
However, a simple comparison reveals that regarding biostimulants, the distance between China and the world is not just conceptual ambiguity, but more importantly the research on mechanisms and the practice of technological industrialization. More enterprises are still stuck in imitation and following, without understanding the fundamentals; they hope to open up the potential market but don't know where to start; they hope to seize business opportunities but lack the basis for judgment.
It can be affirmed that biostimulant-type products are indispensable in future agricultural production, and there is reason to believe that regardless of the form in which biostimulant products participate in agricultural production, they will contribute to improving the agricultural ecological environment and ensuring sustainable agricultural development. At the same time, this is also Chinese agriculture's expectation for biostimulant manufacturers and distributors, so let us open our arms and embrace this blue ocean of the agricultural inputs industry.