The global market of agricultural machinery has become pivotal in the Far East. Following the formidable exploit of countries such as India and China that have in recent years became the largest markets in terms of sold tractors, with an average of more than 600,000 units in India and more than 400,000 in China, new countries are emerging in this vast and populated area of the globe. Data provided by Nomisma on the bases of figures recorded by Global Trade Information Services (GTIS), regarding imports of agricultural machinery, show impressive growth rates in the countries of the Far East.
In the world ranking of the markets recording the largest increases in imports of tractors in the period 2010-2015, five of the first seven countries are in the Far East (Myanmar, Philippines, India, Vietnam, Cambodia). In the world ranking of imports of agricultural machinery the first four positions are also occupied by countries in the Far East (in the order: Myanmar, Cambodia, Philippines and Vietnam).
These figures presented at the SIMA fair in Paris during the press conference organized by FederUnacoma - President of the Federation Massimo Goldoni and Joint Director and Head Agriculture of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Conference and Industry (FICCI) Jasmeet Singh spoke - highlight the strategic co-location of EIMA Agrimach, the international exhibition of agricultural machinery organized by FederUnacoma and FICCI, that will hold its fifth biennial edition in New Delhi from December 7-9, 2017.
At the 2015 edition of EIMA Agrimach - an event that consists in a fixed exposition of machinery and equipment and an external area where demonstrations of how the machinery operates take place - the exhibiting companies were 430 and the visitors recorded were more than 38,000, from all Indian states but also from Asian countries - Pakistan, Iran, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand - countries that represent the “new frontier” of mechanization.
In the period 2010-2015 Vietnam, for instance, recorded an increase in imports of tractors - according to data released by Nomisma/GTIS - by more than 400%, with purchases amounting to 124 million USD in 2015. In the same period the Philippines recorded an increase of 580% (for a value of 41 million USD in 2015), while in Cambodia imports increased by 300% for a value of 38 million USD in 2015.
Sharp increases are recorded also in the sector of agricultural machinery (macchine agricole operatrici): Myanmar is top performer in the world chart with an increase recorded over the 6-year period of 860% (194 million USD in 2015), followed by Cambodia (with a 210% increase in the 6-year period, for a value of 101 million USD in 2015), by the Philippines, (+190%, with imports amounting to 274 million USD in 2015) and by Vietnam, (+128%, with imports amounting to 600 million USD in 2015).
Goldoni said that “the choice to set up an exhibition in New Delhi has proved a winning one, because the Indian market has grown impressively in these years. The Agrimach fair is able to catalyze interests and marketing strategies not only of Italian companies but of all manufacturers that would like to operate on the Indian market.” He went on to say that “the strategy implemented by FICCI and FederUnacoma provides for a growing involvement of Asian countries, and a strong focus on production and agricultural business models that are typical of Asian countries.”
Singh commented that “the process of mechanization of Indian agriculture and in countries in the Far East must take place in a consistent and systematic way, through the promotion of exhibitions that may showcase machinery and technological innovation, but also promoting informative initiatives such as field tests, verifications of the technical characteristics of the machines for their adaptation to the specific needs of local agriculture.” Singh added that “for this reason, along with the EIMA Agrimach event a wide range of demonstrations and appointments to show the machinery at work will take place in various states of the country, organized together with the Ministry of Agriculture, with agricultural organizations, universities and research institutes present in some states that play a key role in the Indian agricultural sector.”
