Italy's agricultural machinery market is still in the red

Italy's agricultural machinery market was already in decline at the end of September according to the data. The balance of the first nine months of the year in fact indicates declines for all types of vehicles, with percentages that show no improvement compared to the first half of the year. Tractor registrations – compiled by FederUnacoma on the basis of records provided by the Ministry of Transport – show a 15.6% (11,851 units registered) drop in tractors compared to the same period last year, a 31.9% drop in combine harvesters with 246 units registered, and a 18.7% decrease in tractors with loading platforms (405 units). Telescopic handlers are down 18% (751 units registered) while the decrease is slightly less for trailers, which show a -2.8% drop with 6,034 units.

Examining the tractor data for individual regions, we can see that the decreases are higher than the national average in Emilia Romagna (-23.3%), Lazio (-20.2%), Sicily (-18.2%), and Veneto (-17.2%), whereas the declines are less pronounced in Lombardy (-9.8%) and Apulia (-3.2%) compared to the national average. The Federation of manufacturers once again points out how the decline in sales is linked to the increase in list prices, difficulties in accessing credit and low agricultural incomes. Also holding back the market is the slowdown in the provision of new incentives (PNRR, Innovation Fund, Decree 5.0), which we hope will soon be fully operational. The news of imminent incentives – the Federation reminds us – always produces a slowdown in purchases, as entrepreneurs suspend investments while waiting for more favorable conditions. In light of this - concludes the Federation - it is necessary that the news of new incentives be followed by a rapid fine-tuning of the fund allocation systems, precisely to avoid distorting effects on the normal trend of the market.