The Untapped Potential of the Analytical and Scientific Instrumentation Market in Latin America

According to IBO’s publisher Strategic Directions International (SDi), part of Science and Medicine Group, the analytical and scientific instrument industry plays a crucial role in various end-markets in Latin America. For instance, SDi states that top vendors that supply products, such as GCs and petroleum analyzes, to Latin American oil and gas companies benefit greatly; for example, Mexico and Venezuela are prominent oil producers.

In June 2021, SDi released “Latin America 2021: The Market for Laboratory Analytical & Life Science Instrumentation,” which gives an overview of the Latin American market for analytical and life science instrumentation and forecasts demand through 2025 . The report provides synopses of the demand by end-market and technology for the region. The countries covered in the report are Argentina, Brazil, Central America & Caribbean, Mexico and Other Latin America. For the report, SDi used primary sources, including interviews, and secondary resources, such as company financial documents, website documents and other resources.

In the report, demand for 10 technology sectors is cataloged: atomic spectroscopy, chromatography, lab automation, lab equipment, life science instrumentation, mass spectrometry, materials characterization, molecular spectroscopy, sample preparation and surface science. Agilent Technologies, MilliporeSigma and Thermo Fisher Scientific are the top vendors of these analytical and scientific instruments, equipment and aftermarket products in Latin America.

In 2021, the analytical and scientific instrumentation market in Latin America generated over $1.0 billion and is forecast to post low single-digit growth through 2025. By technology, atomic spectroscopy is expected to be the primary growth driver.

In the report, SDi provides revenues and market forecasts by application, country and sector for each the 10 laboratory technologies. For instance, in 2021, the pharmaceutical/bio end-market generated the most revenue and SDi expects it to be the main growth driver by end-market. Due to an aging demographic, more access to healthcare services and foreign investment, SDi predicts the analytical and scientific instrumentation industry will meet the demand for a thriving pharmaceutical/bio sector in Latin America.

Atomic Spectroscopy

Latin America’s atomic spectroscopy market is predicted to increase in the mid-single digits through 2025, thanks to the region’s significant metals and mining industry presence. X-ray diffraction (XRD) is anticipated to be the main growth driver within the atomic spectroscopy market thanks to its ability to analyze and identify metals and minerals. Specifically, XRF technology is beneficial to Latin American end-users since the region is a global leader in ores, precious metals, and rare earth metals production.

In 2021, the top vendors for atomic spectroscopy instruments were Agilent, PerkinElmer and Thermo Fisher. Thermo Fisher specializes in all atomic spectroscopy techniques, while Agilent and PerkinElmer are leaders in inductively-coupled plasma spectroscopy, (ICP), ICP–mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and other segments.