EIMA 2024, International Agricultural and Gardening Machinery Exhibition
Trade Agency (ICE) headquarters in Rome. The global market is growing and demand is expected to increase in the years to come. More and more countries are investing in agricultural technologies and require special technical and commercial cooperation programs
The EIMA exhibition stands as one of the most “internationalized” events in the world trade fair panorama. The exhibition of machinery, equipment and components for agriculture and gardening – whose 46th annual event will be held in Bologna from 6 to 10 November – will see the participation of operators from 150 countries, ranging from the United States to Thailand, Australia to Nigeria, and even the Bahamas.
FederUnacoma (Italian Agricultural Machinery Manufacturers Federation), the direct organizer of the event, expects the 2024 event to equal, and even surpass, the previous one held in 2022, which saw 327,000 attendees, including 57,000 visitors from abroad. This was the message launched during the press conference held this morning in Rome at the Italian Trade Agency headquarters, broadcast live and streamed to computer operators and communication and marketing managers of the industries participating in the event. The conference started with videomessages from the Italian Minister of Agriculture, Francesco Lollobrigida, and form the president of ICE Agency, Matteo Zoppas, and with a speech from the Director General of ICE, Lorenzo Galanti. During his statement Francesco Lollobrigida underlined the strength of the EIMA Brand. “The large number of visitors and the variety of technologies presented make of the Bologna based exhibition an extraordinary event. EIMA – said the ministry – expresses a system of manufacturers and individuals who believe in what they do and who always put forward quality”. The president of ICE, Matteo Zoppas, underlined the long date partnership between ICE Agency and FederUnacoma in promoting Italian agricultural technologies on global markets. “Together with FederUnacoma, among other activities, we are working to develop the export of the sector also as envisaged by the Mattei Plan, promoted by the Meloni Government, which has indicated a clear priority in the development of standards of agricultural technologies in African countries together with water management and land cultivation. ICE supports Italian agri-tech companies with a wide range of initiatives that include incoming, collectives, missions and business forums, workshops and training projects. The agricultural machinery sector accounted for approximately EUR 10 billion in exports in 2023, a growth of 10% compared to 2022 and 40% compared to 2019, higher than the increase in Italian exports as a whole. It is a business-to-business category of high technological value in which Italian leadership has unquestionable value”. After all Italy is the fourth largest exporting nation in the world behind Germany, the USA and China. “The agricultural machinery sector truly represents the excellence of Made in Italy technology, to such a degree that Italy is the fourth largest exporting nation in the world behind Germany, the USA and China. In particular – added Galanti - we are recognized for our specific and distinctive expertise in the small and medium cultivation segment, which includes such productions as high added value crops, which require specific technologies. As ICE we are proud to support EIMA, an event of international importance, sharing with the over 400 operators and 40 foreign journalists at the fair the result of the great work of ICE's offices around the world. Our efforts are aimed at generating concrete opportunities for operators to get together in order to support the great quality of the Italian agricultural machinery industry”. Mariateresa Maschio, president of FederUnacoma described how the collaboration with ICE will make it possible at the upcoming EIMA to create a program of business-to-business meetings with over 450 financial operators from 80 nations, selected by the foreign offices of the Agency and organized on the basis of the specific interest of each operator for the different merchandise present. “In 2023, the international agricultural machinery market accounted for around 164 billion dollars - stated the President of FederUnacoma - of which 57 billion related to agricultural tractors, 73 billion related to other types of machinery and equipment, and 34 billion was allocated to sector components. Worldwide data on trade in tractors indicates a growth of 4.7% per year over the last 15 years - said Mariateresa Maschio - but the demand for machinery is set to grow further".
Investments in agricultural machinery are in fact necessary, and involve an ever-increasing number of countries, since agriculture is a strategic sector for food security, as well as for the supply of raw materials for industry and energy.
“If the business sector is historically concentrated in the four large markets of India (over 900,000 tractors registered in 2023), China (380,000), the United States (250,000) and Europe (158,000) - said the President of FederUnacoma - in perspective the demand for machinery will grow in countries such as Brazil, Argentina, Australia, Indonesia, Turkey and many others”. “This is the reason why a trade fair event like EIMA International is so important,” concluded Mariateresa Maschio, “the reason why the presence of foreign operators, country by country, promises to be increasingly widespread and well-informed.”
