India's next chapter in crop protection: Advancing formulation innovation, sustainability and global competitiveness

India's evolving role in the global agriculture market

India's crop protection industry has evolved significantly over the last decade. Strong manufacturing capabilities, cost competitiveness and increasing global demand for supply chain diversification have strengthened the country's position as a strategic export hub.

India’s export momentum is now a defining part of its crop protection story. The country has emerged as the world’s third-largest exporter of agrochemicals, after China and the United States, with exports estimated at approximately US$3.3 billion in FY2025. This data reflects India’s growing relevance as a global manufacturing and formulation hub, fuelled by cost-competitive production, strong chemistry capabilities and increasing demand from international markets for reliable, diversified supply chains.

Looking ahead to 2030, growth is expected to be influenced by several structural factors. These include rising food demand, increasing agricultural productivity requirements, technology adoption and continued expansion of export-oriented manufacturing. At the same time, customer expectations are changing. As farming practices evolve, formulators are increasingly focused on achieving improved dispersion, stability, compatibility, pesticide rainfastness, deposition and field performance across diverse agricultural conditions.

This shift highlights the growing importance of formulation science where performance is no longer determined solely by the active ingredient; it also depends on how effectively the active is formulated and delivered to the target.

Market trends shaping India’s crop protection industry

Across the Indian market, customers are becoming more technically sophisticated and innovation focused. Multinational corporations, established domestic agrochemical manufacturers and emerging regional formulators are all seeking differentiation through better formulation performance.

Several key trends are shaping this evolution:

• Growing demand for advanced formulation systems
• Increased focus on export-compliant formulations
• Adoption of drone spraying and precision agriculture technologies
• Expansion of biologicals and integrated crop management approaches
• Rising interest in sustainable and lower-impact formulation platforms

These market developments require formulation solutions that can deliver performance, stability and application efficiency under varying field conditions for farmers. As a result, the role of specialty chemical ingredients, agrochemical adjuvants and co-formulants is becoming increasingly strategic.

Croda Agriculture: From ingredient supplier to innovation partner

At Croda Agriculture, our vision is to move beyond ingredient supply and become a trusted innovation partner for crop protection formulators in India by helping them navigate through their development journey, from agrochemical formulation design and ingredient selection to prototype development, stability optimisation, performance validation and commercial scale-up.

By working closely with formulators in India, our team of experts can help address challenges related to local active ingredient portfolios, crop patterns, water quality conditions, regulatory requirements and cost-performance expectations. Thereby enabling our customers to shorten their development timelines, improve formulation robustness and accelerate the launch of differentiated solutions to market.

Strengthening India's crop protection industry through expanded local manufacturing in Dahej, Gujarat

An important milestone in Croda's commitment to India in 2026 has been the establishment and expansion of its manufacturing footprint in Dahej, Gujarat.

With increasing emphasis on supply chain reliability, speed-to-market and localised technical support in India’s crop protection industry, the new Dahej manufacturing site enables us to deliver high-quality, sustainable solutions with greater speed, reliability and flexibility. Thus, strengthening customer responsiveness to better address the evolving needs of India's crop protection industry and agrochemical export markets. Read more about how Croda’s Dahej site supports growth and sustainable innovation.

Figure 1: Pictures from the commissioning ceremony at our new manufacturing facility in Dahej, India

Enabling advanced oil dispersion formulations with Cresmer™ OD SOL

Oil dispersion (OD) formulations are gaining increasing attention within the crop protection industry, particularly for active ingredients that are difficult to formulate using conventional water-based systems or where enhanced stability and delivery performance are desired.

However, developing successful oil dispersion formulations often presents significant technical challenges, including:

• Balancing active ingredient loading
• Achieving oil compatibility
• Maintaining suspension stability
• Managing viscosity
• Ensuring redispersibility
• Delivering ease of handling during manufacturing and use

One example of Croda's innovation-led approach is Cresmer OD SOL, a next-generation, high-performing OD chassis engineered for easy oil dispersion formulation.

Cresmer OD SOL has been designed to help formulators address these challenges by improving active ingredient dispersion within the oil phase and supporting formulation robustness. For customers, this can translate into reduced development complexity, greater formulation confidence and more differentiated end products.

Figure 2: Physical appearance of Cresmer OD SOL

Importantly, Cresmer OD SOL also addresses the growing need for region-specific formulation development. As regulatory frameworks, solvent acceptability, sustainability expectations and application preferences differ across markets, formulators increasingly need platforms that offer both technical performance and adaptability. Croda’s Cresmer OD SOL enables customers to build robust oil dispersion formulations while tailoring solutions to local regulatory requirements, crop needs and user expectations, thereby helping to accelerate development for both domestic and export markets.

Read our blog to discover how Cresmer OD SOL simplifies oil dispersion formulation as an all-in-one chassis.

Sustainable crop protection through better formulation design

Sustainability is becoming a central theme across modern agriculture. However, sustainable crop protection is not simply about replacing one chemistry with another. It is about improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the entire formulation and application system, while enabling greater resource efficiency.

Specialty chemical ingredients can contribute to sustainability by:

• Improving active ingredient delivery
• Enhancing spray performance
• Increasing formulation stability
• Supporting better deposition and retention
• Improving pesticide rainfastness
• Reducing variability under field conditions

These benefits are particularly relevant to farmers in India, who face diverse agro-climatic conditions, varying water quality and different farming application practices.

Croda Agriculture is also expanding its capabilities for biological formulations and sustainable delivery technologies. Our existing offering includes formulation ingredients and adjuvant technologies that can help improve the stability, compatibility, dispersion and field performance of biological actives, enabling the development of more reliable and scalable biological crop protection solutions. This is especially relevant as the industry moves toward integrated crop management approaches, where conventional chemistries and biological solutions increasingly work together to deliver effective and sustainable outcomes for farmers.

Looking towards 2030: What is the future of crop protection in India?

As the Indian agrochemical industry continues its rise as a global crop protection leader, collaboration between manufacturers, formulators, technology providers and farmers will become increasingly important.

Three key priorities for Croda Agriculture in India

1. Looking ahead, these three strategic priorities will shape Croda Agriculture's growth in India:
2. Strengthening the core co-formulants business
3. Expanding our differentiated adjuvant platformsBuilding future growth areas including biologicals, micronutrients and sustainable delivery systems

Alongside these priorities, the company continues to invest in customer-centric technical support, local market understanding, field validation capabilities and innovation partnerships.

The long-term ambition is clear: To be recognised as a trusted partner in formulation excellence and sustainable crop protection innovation.

As Indian agriculture enters its next chapter, success will belong to agrochemical companies that can combine science, sustainability and customer proximity. Through its global expertise, local presence and commitment to innovation, Croda Agriculture aims to collaborate with our India customers to navigate this evolving landscape and unlock new opportunities for growth.

Get in touch with our agriculture specialists to explore how we can help optimise your formulation.

This article was featured in AgroNews E-weekly and the 2026 India Focus magazine.