CIAME 2015, top flight appointment for agricultural mechanization in China
China's economy is also of great importance in the primary sector and the CIAME International Agricultural Machinery Exhibition staged annually provides an opportunity for updates on the technologies available for those in the sector and an outlet for Italian products arriving in Qingdao with a group exhibition organized by ICE, the Italian Foreign Trade Agency, and FederUnacoma
In spite of the recent slowdown of the Chinese economy and financial market turmoil, the country’s market is still a fundamental trade partner for many countries in a variety of sectors, including agriculture and agricultural machinery and equipment.
CIAME, the International Agricultural Machinery Exhibition, is China’s largest event set up in the agricultural machinery sector which rotates locations annually. The 2015 edition will be held in Qingdao, in the eastern Shandong Province on the east coast, from October 26 to 28.
Data on CIAME 2014, in Wuhan, the capital of the Hubei Province, disclose that 1,800 manufacturers from 12 countries took part on an exhibition area of 200,000 m² with 121,000 visitors arriving from China and another forty-two countries.
In the fifty-six years since the start of these exhibitions, sponsored by the associations of agricultural mechanization and manufacturers and dealers, they have grown in quality, logistics and the numbers. For exhibitors, the numbers have climbed by 7% over the past ten years, from 1,512 in 2005, while exhibition area has grown 150% from 8,000 m², and the gain for visitors rose 12.6 from 108,000 in the year considered. The 121,000 visitors coming from abroad for the 2014 event were carefully profiled by the CIAME organization which reported a mix of professionals representing import/export enterprises, 3%; farmers, 7%; institutional representatives, 8%; representatives from cooperatives and services specialized in agricultural mechanization, 16%; manufacturers, 24%; and especially business people in the sector, at 42%.
For Italy, China is an important trade partner. The most recent bilateral trade data in the agricultural machinery sector available, 2014 – ISTAT (Italian National Statistics Institute), show a decline in Italian tractor exports along with a 30.84% increase in imports from China to a value of € 1 million and a 38% gain for related agricultural machinery and equipment to the value of € 62 million.
These data can be explained by the fact that Chinese authorities have named activities in the primary sector as a strategic objective for the country, established that for a land area which does not fall below the red line of 120 million hectares the aim must be increasing efficiency in these sectors thanks in part to the introduction of innovative implements and for these the market is open.
Acting to support this bilateral trade are ICE, the Italian Foreign Trade Agency, and FederUnacoma, the Italian Agricultural Machinery Manufacturers Federation, responsible for the organization of an Italian collective to arrive for the upcoming CIAME to take over an exhibition area of 364 m². The thirteen companies participating specialize mainly in agricultural equipment, irrigation systems and components: Arag, Celli, Idromeccanica Bertolini, Braglia, Tecomec, Comet, Rovatti & Figli Pompe, Emak, Annovi e Reveberi, Ama, Brevini Power Transmission, Cicoria and Udor. Their area will include an institutional space and a welcoming center for exhibitors and visitors.
