Alfalfa Seed - Market Share Analysis, Industry Trends & Statistics, Growth Forecasts (2024 - 2030)

The Alfalfa Seed Market size is estimated at USD 1.08 billion in 2024, and is expected to reach USD 1.35 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 3.79% during the forecast period (2024-2030).

Key Highlights

• Hybrids is the Largest Breeding Technology: The large share of hybrids is associated with the development and adoption of transgenic hybrids, increased area under hybrids, high palatability, and disease resistance.
• Canada is the Largest Country: It is due to the increased area under cultivation as a result of government initiatives, high profitability, and an increase in the demand for feed from livestock industry.
• Hybrids is the Fastest-growing Breeding Technology: The fastest growth of hybrids is expected due to the increasing area under transgenic alfalfa. Also, major companies are developing new hybrids with improved traits.
• United Kingdom is the Fastest-growing Country: The fastest growth of the segment is due to the high demand for better-quality meat, increasing livestock population, and awareness about quality feed among farmers.

Alfalfa Seed Market Trends

Hybrids is the largest Breeding Technology

• The livestock population is increasing across the regions. The increase in livestock population needs an expansion of the area under forages. These are some of the major factors leading to the growth of the hybrid and open-pollinated seed market.
• The hybrid segment tops the alfalfa seed market due to the increase in adoption of hybrid varieties because of increasing awareness about its benefits. The hybrid seed market share value is expected to increase by 42.7% from 2022 to 2028 due to the rise in the seed replacement rate and the availability of improved varieties in the market.
• Increasing acceptance of advanced hybrid technology, such as drought tolerance and disease resistance by growers, are expected to help in the hybrid alfalfa seed market growth in the coming years. For instance, the cultivated area of transgenic alfalfa in North America has increased by 24% during the 2016-2021 period due to high-quality production and higher protection from weeds and diseases than open-pollinated varieties.
• Asia-Pacific is forecasted to be the fastest growing market in the OPVs segment at a CAGR of 4.9% because a small group of farmers in the country is expected to use OPVs over hybrids as they require fewer inputs, such as fertilizer and pesticides, and are less expensive and more affordable for small holding and low-income farmers.
• Therefore, an increase in the cultivation area under commercial seeds and the demand from cattle growers for quality forage with more protein and digestible fiber content is expected to boost the market for hybrid seeds across the region during the forecast period.

North America is the largest Region

• In 2021, North America was the largest market in the global alfalfa seed market, with a share of about 42.5% of the global market due to the highest production, globally, weather conditions, and increased demand by dairy farmers. Canada has the greatest demand in the region because of the increase in demand for crops as feed, the increase in cultivation area, and high profitability.
• In Asia-Pacific, alfalfa is an important forage crop as the weather is favorable and demand for high protein feed is more from the livestock and cattle rearers in the region. The market share of the region was 18.5% of the global alfalfa seed market in 2021, which is expected to increase in the forecast period as the adoption of alfalfa is increasing among farmers.
• Europe is the second largest producer of alfalfa globally. Europe's share in the global alfalfa seed market value was 25.8% in 2021, with an area of nearly 3.6 million ha under cultivation. Italy was the largest producer and occupied a large area of alfalfa production in Europe. As there is a significant demand for better-quality meat, increased livestock production is likely to create a demand for better forage crops such as alfalfa, driving the market for alfalfa forage seeds in the region.
• In South America, the area cultivated has increased by about 6.1% from 2016 to 2022 due to high profitability and an increase in the demand for feed for livestock as well as the meat industry.
• Therefore, the above factors, such as the increasing area under cultivation and rising demand for forage, are anticipated to help in the growth of the alfalfa seed market.

Alfalfa Seed Industry Overview

The Alfalfa Seed Market is moderately consolidated, with the top five companies occupying 55.78%. The major players in this market are Bayer AG, Corteva Agriscience, DLF, RAGT Semences and Royal Barenbrug Group (sorted alphabetically).

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