Tractors: global sales boom

Tractor sales figures indicate record increases in all major countries. The general economic recovery encourages investments," says FederUnacoma President Alessandro Malavolti, "but what is crucial is the good performance of agricultural production and, above all, the growth prospects of the primary sector, which within the next nine years is going to grow by 18% for plant production and 13% for livestock products

Sales of agricultural machinery, equipment and components are growing at an unprecedented rate in all the main markets. Data on tractor registrations - released in Bologna during the press conference for the presentation of EIMA International, the world exhibition of agricultural machinery, organized by FederUnacoma - indicate consistent growth in the United States, which after closing 2020 already in positive, in the first nine months of this year registered almost 246 thousand units, an increase of 12% over the same period last year. India - the world's largest market in terms of units sold - registered 680 thousand units in the first nine months of this year, up 25%. Positive trends characterised the European markets. In Germany, cumulative sales in September since the beginning of the year stood at approximately 25,700 units, up 6.8% compared to last year, and the market is also growing consistently in Great Britain and Spain, where sales in the first nine months of the year reached 11,247 and 8,245 units respectively, with increases of 20% and 13%. Among EU countries, Italy stands out, with a growth rate of 44% (18,510 units registered), significantly higher than the continental average. One of the most dynamic markets is Turkey, which in September recorded increases of 49% with more than 39 thousand machines, a figure that nevertheless remains far from the levels (73 thousand machines) reached in 2017, before the economic crisis of 2018-2019 and the subsequent health emergency caused a collapse in domestic sales. For other important markets, Agrievolution data indicated significant increases in the first half of the year, such as the case of the Russian Federation, which in the middle of the year recorded a growth of 24.4% (over 17,400 machines), or that of Japan, which grew by 35.7% in the first half of the year to the tune of over 10,700 units. "This market boom is due to a set of reasons," explained FederUnacoma President Alessandro Malavolti during the conference, "partly linked to the global economic recovery, with the increase in world GDP expected to be 5.9% in 2021 and 4.9% in 2022, and partly linked to the good performance of agriculture and its growth prospects in the coming years, which make it necessary to invest in new-generation technologies.

The good performance of yields in some areas of Eastern Europe and Australia, favoured by the positive weather conditions - it was explained during the conference - have more than compensated for the cut in wheat production foreseen for the Russian Federation, where the winter harvest is complete and the results show lower yields than previously forecast, due to the negative effects of the dry weather. On top of this, rice production growth (at an all-time high of 520 million tonnes, up 1.3 percent) contributes to a total grain output forecast of around 2.800 million tonnes, up 1.1 percent from last year. Agriculture is benefiting not only from the good economic performance," Malavolti stressed, "but also the growth prospects for the coming years. According to FAO projections, world agricultural production will have increased 18% by 2030, and livestock production by 13%, due to population growth. Together with quantity, the quality of production will also have to increase to meet the demand for high-quality food and the growing consumption of fruit and vegetables in particular.”