The great exhibition of agricultural mechanics, EIMA International which will hold its 46th edition at the Bologna fair from 6-10 November, was officially presented with an international streaming press conference on 18 January
Connected by the facilities of the Bologna Fair, the president and general manager of FederUnacoma, illustrated the characteristics of this prestigious event focusing on the challenges of agromechanics and trends that characterise the sector market.
During the opening of the conference, president of FederUnacoma, Mariateresa Maschio said, "Every country in Europe, the US, Asia, Africa and Oceania is confronted with the need to meet a growing demand for food products both in terms of quantity and quality and at the same time with the urgency of reducing the use of fertilisers and pesticides, drastically reducing water consumption, preserving biodiversity, improving the quality of life of rural communities. All this is only possible through modern agricultural mechanisation."
Mechanical equipment is essential in every production context and for every model of agricultural enterprise, and the growth in demand is demonstrated by sales figures — released during the conference — which show a clearly positive trend. Comparing the levels of 2015 and 2022, dramatic increases can be seen in almost all markets. In 2022 world trade in tractors reached a value of US$31.5bn with an increase of almost 35% compared to the previous year. As for other types of machines, in 2022 world trade reached a value of more than US$76bn with an average annual growth rate of 5.6% in the period 2009-2022. The 2023 budget showed a drop in global sales.
As discussed at the press conference, the factors that most affect the agricultural machinery market are those related to economic uncertainty, determined in large part by the war between Russia and Ukraine and the resulting black lists and trade sanctions, and now aggravated by the new conflict in the Middle East. But a decisive factor is inflation — which has led especially in Europe to a significant increase in production costs and therefore in the final price of machinery — and above all the increase in interest rates, practiced primarily by the European and US central banks.
Maschio concluded by stating that the market would return to growth in the face of a demand that does not stop. According to her, the Export Planning forecasts for the near future confirmed the positive trend for the agricultural machinery trade, with average annual increases of 6.3% until 2027 for tractors and 5.9% for other types of machines. "The EIMA in Bologna will once again be the driver of innovation, the element that pushes agriculture towards the future," said Maschio.
