Global Agricultural equipment exports increased from €60bn to almost €74bn between 2020 and 2021, a rise of 23%, according to the latest industry report compiled by CEMA, the association representing the European agricultural machinery industry.

Germany remained the global leader, with agricultural machinery exports of €13.1bn.China was next up with €9bn worth of exports, having moved in front of the United States (€8.1bn). Italy and France placed fourth and fifth. When combined, the European Union leads global agricultural equipment exports by far.

The size of the global market according to the report is estimated at around €145b, of which European production accounts for €40.7b.

According to CEMA, it estimates that the European agricultural machinery market (European Union and United Kingdom) was worth €34.2bn for manufacturers in 2021, up 20% compared to 2020.

France was the largest European market, at €7bn.It was followed by Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and Poland.

Ireland

In 2021, Ireland had the 17th largest agricultural machinery market in the EU, including the UK and Turkey – both of which are also CEMA members.

Ireland’s total production of agricultural machinery totalled €180 million euros, according to CEMA. In terms of trading, €510m worth of equipment was imported and €270m worth was exported.

The UK placed fifth with a 2021 production figure of €2.19bn, €2.53bn in imports and €1.95bn in exports.

Production breakdown

When European agricultural machinery production for 2020 was broken down into individual product families, based on a percentage share of the total production in terms of value, tractor production accounted for the largest percentage at 22% or €7.275bn in value.

Machinery and spare parts came next at 18% or €5.99bn, followed by tillage and fertiliser equipment production at 12%, totalling €3.89bn.

Equipment imports

Agricultural equipment imports follow quite similar trends at a global level. The USA remained the largest importer of agricultural machinery, followed by France and Germany.

Interestingly, Russia entered the top five global countries importing machinery, with €2.8 bn worth of machinery imported.

It replaced the United Kingdom, which moved to sixth position, with €2.5bn worth of machinery imported for the year. When aggregated, the European Union leads global agricultural equipment imports.

Russia/Ukraine conflict

According to Industry report, this €2.8bn figure of machinery imported into Russia in 2021 was for machinery sourced globally.

A very significant portion of the machinery imported was from European countries, with Germany being the most exposed (€583m) and the Netherlands, Italy, France, Finland, Poland also cited as being significant suppliers.

Belarus (€441m) and China (€399m) are the other two major exporters of agricultural machinery to Russia.

Based on the 2021 statistics, Ukraine imported about €1.3bn worth of agricultural machinery, which too was sourced globally.

Germany was the largest exporter to Ukraine, accounting for 29% of the total value of machinery imported. The United States and China were the second and third largest suppliers to Ukraine for the period.

Italy, Poland, France and the UK are also significant suppliers. In contrast, the flow of Russian and Ukrainian exports of agricultural machinery to the EU is minimal.

The report cited that the ongoing conflict is still impacting trade flows for machinery, parts and components. Such impacts to trade flows and the indirect effects, such as the increased cost of energy and raw material, will have continued influences on the sector in the short, medium and long term.