The global veterinary artificial insemination (AI) market size is anticipated to reach $7.4 billion by 2030, according to a new report by Grand View Research Inc. The market is expected to expand at a lucrative compound annual growth rate of 6.5 percent from 2022 to 2030. The key factors driving the market growth include increasing consumption of animal protein, growing demand for livestock productivity and adoption of sexed semen.
In September 2021, LIC—an agritech cooperative based in New Zealand—launched a sexed semen lab in the country to meet the growing demand. This boosted the cooperative’s capabilities to artificially inseminate about 4.5 million cattle between the spring mating season of September to December 2021.
Key findings
By animal type, the cattle segment held the largest share of the market in 2021, owing to rising consumption of beef, milk and milk products. The swine segment is projected to grow the fastest, owing to the rising adoption of AI techniques and growing consumption of pork in key markets.
The normal semen segment accounted for the largest revenue share in the products segment in 2021, owing to the low cost of the product compared to sexed semen and wide availability.
The sexed semen segment is expected to show the fastest growth during the forecast period. In 2016, STgenetics produced 4 million X chromosomes in an AI straw. The company sells sexed semen for five species of animals, including cattle, deer, sheep, horses and goats. The rate of semen straws ranges between $65-250 apiece as of 2018, depending on the quality, species and use of the animal.
The animal husbandry segment accounted for the largest revenue share in 2021 and is expected to maintain its dominance throughout the forecast period. The growth can be attributed to most semen collection and artificial insemination procedures performed on-site on farms.
North America dominated the market in 2021, while the Asia-Pacific region is anticipated to grow the fastest in the coming years.
Market growth, trends
The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in many challenges, including dampened growth, decreased sales and marketing activities, supply chain hurdles and delays in delivery of AI services. The erratic and uncertain consumption patterns in several key markets exacerbated by sporadic lockdowns and logistical bottlenecks further increased the uncertainty in the market.
The growth was also dampened by other factors such as African swine fever (ASF). Genus PLC, for example, reported labor shortages, adverse impacts on retail food service demand and meatpacking capacity, and international logistics delays due to the pandemic. The company indicated that in the near term, feed input costs, ASF and COVID-19 implications would continue to exert pressure on the global porcine industry, in particular in China and Europe. In North America, the pandemic led to packing plant slowdowns during the first half of fiscal year 2021.
To fulfill the continuously increasing demand for meat and dairy products, market players are expanding artificial insemination solutions to breed high-quality livestock and enhance production. For example, in August 2020, Cogent, with AB Europe, launched a novel sexed semen service for United Kingdom sheep producers.
Developing regions such as Latin America are also contributing to the growth of the market for veterinary AI. For instance, Brazil, one of the major countries in the region, has been adopting AI increasingly for the past decade.
The country has also deployed fixed-time AI techniques to increase profitability and success rates. According to the Brazilian Association of Artificial Insemination, from January to September 2018, 306,052 doses of national sexed semen were marketed for beef and dairy cattle, while it reached 503,078 in 2020, an increase of 30.83 percent.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) publication in 2019, livestock contributed almost 40 percent of the global value of agricultural output in developed countries and 20 percent in developing ones, and it provides food security and livelihoods to more than 1.3 billion people worldwide.
Increased adoption of AI procedures in cattle, rising milk consumption and production of beef are other factors responsible for the significant growth of the market. For instance, according to data published by the United Nations FAO in 2018, beef and buffalo production increased from 69.56 million tons in 2017 to 71.61 million tons in 2018. Furthermore, the rising consumption of milk and milk products is positively impacting the market growth.
Favorable government regulations, intended to improve productivity, are also leading to growth. For instance, the Indian government approved the Agriculture Export Policy in 2018 to enhance agricultural economic growth in the nation. The new policy is aimed at boosting India’s agricultural output to $60 billion by 2022 and $100 billion with a predictable foreign policy framework in the next few years. — Grand View Research
