Decline in agricultural machinery exports slows down Italian production

Uncertainty in both international and domestic markets, and mainly, contraction on foreign demand, have led to the decline in national production of Italy’s agricultural machinery, an official of FederUnacoma, the Italian Agricultural Machinery Manufacturers Federation, has said.Speaking to journalists covering this year’s ‘International Agricultural and Gardening Machinery Exhibition’ (EIMA International 2024), which will run until November 10 at the Bologna Exhibition Centre, FederUnacoma president Mariateresa Maschio said the overall value of national production of agriculture and gardening technologies is set to close 2024 with a 19.5% decrease compared to the same period in 2023, amounting to only €13.2bn."The decline is due to the contraction of domestic demand, but above all, to the slowdown of foreign markets, which contribute significantly to the turnover of Italian agricultural machinery companies. FederUnacoma will have to wait for the second half of 2025 to see a recovery,” she said.Forecasts of the construction association FederUnacoma indicate a 19.5% decline, for a total value of €13.2bn, or €3.2bn less than the previous year. Data relating to the production of mechanical vehicles for agriculture was taken from the total of the different types of machines, Maschio stated.She said tractors account for just over €2bn (-25% compared to 2023), incomplete tractors and spare parts account for €1bn (-28.6%), operating machines and equipment represent a value of €6.2bn (-16.5%), components for €3.3bn (-17.5%), while gardening and green care machines contribute €700mn, with a 22.2% decrease from the previous year."The decline in domestic demand weighed on the contraction in turnover in the first half of the year. The Italian market for technologies for the primary sector, which in 2023 had closed with a 12.9% decrease for tractors and with declines also for other types of vehicles from January to October, recorded even more pronounced declines, with registrations of tractors at -14.6%, combine harvesters (-31.5%), tractors with loading platforms (-18.2%), telescopic handlers at (14,9%), and trailers at (2.4%)."The data relating to the sales of gardening machinery and equipment, processed by Comagarden on the basis of the Morgan survey group and referring to the month of September, are slightly more positive (+1.2%), but do not compensate for the strong deficit recorded by the garden sector in the two-year period 2022-2023,” Maschio explained.In the first six months of 2024, Maschio said Italy’s exports of tractors, tractor parts, and other agricultural machinery (excluding data on components and gardening) fell by 9% overall, with a value of €3bn and €408mn, while maintaining a positive trade balance of €2.2bn.She said the US, France, and Germany were once again the main destination countries for agricultural technologies bearing the "Made in Italy” trademark, followed by Turkiye, which ranks fourth on the exports list.Maschio said, "No improvements are expected in the end-of-year budget as shown from the monitoring that the federation of builders systematically carries out among its associated companies. In the third quarter of this year, 70% of the industries in the sector reported a worse turnover trend compared to the same period last year, with a prevalence of companies indicating a decline of between 11% and 20%."According to 60% of the manufacturers surveyed, a reversal of the trend could materialise from the second half of 2025. The recovery could be helped by a stabilisation of the overall economic picture, but as far as domestic demand is concerned, much depends on the implementation of the incentive system for the purchase of latest-generation agricultural machinery.”