CEMA, the European Agricultural Machinery Association, is being less than its usual bright and optimistic self, in reporting that the market volume for arable farming and crop protection equipment is expected to amount to €4.70 billion in 2023.
This marks a decrease of about 3% when compared to the previous year (2022), with a 5% drop for the seeding, fertilising, crop protection equipment segment, while cultivation equipment didn’t fare quite so badly, with a 2% decline.
The organisation goes on to note that the agricultural machinery industry as a whole experienced a steady growth from 2021 to 2023, yet it expects a decline in 2024 and are forecasting it as being as much 10%.
A strong downward trend has already been observed since the fourth quarter of 2023 and this has been reflected in the slow tractor sales and long faces of dealers here in Ireland.
It is though, important to note that sales have not dried up altogether and the recent turn in the weather may well encourage farmers to reconsider their lack of enthusiasm for spending on machinery.
A number of challenges are becoming apparent on the industry’s demand side, according to CEMA.
These factors include the new EU CAP policy, the farmers’ protests, volatile markets and high interest rates, all of which, it suggests, are having a negative impact on farmers’ willingness to invest.
CEMA notes on tractor sales
Across the EU, agricultural tractor registrations were 4.9% lower than in 2022, but was only slightly below the average number registered in the last five years.
Sales were much the same at the start of the year, with the decline being sharper in the second half of the year.
Between July and December 2023, nearly 10% fewer tractors were registered than in the equivalent period of 2022.
This slowdown in the market also meant that registrations in the second half of the year were 7% below the seasonal average.
Overall, 211,700 tractors were registered across Europe in 2023, according to numbers sourced from national authorities.
CEMA considers that 158,100 of these vehicles are agricultural tractors, of which 26,200 tractors (17%) were 37kW (50hp) and under and 131,900 (83%) were 38kW and above.
The rest are made up of a variety of vehicles which are sometimes classified as tractors, which includes quads, side-by-side utility vehicles, telehandlers and some other types of equipment.