"Even in times of crisis, agricultural products and food are in high demand. Agriculture and agricultural machinery are considered systemically relevant. This benefits farmers, consumers and our industry," says Dr. Bernd Scherer, managing director of VDMA Agricultural Machinery.

High grain prices

A major reason for the good run of the agricultural machinery sector was the exceptional development of wheat and coarse grain prices, which have risen sharply since July and have meanwhile reached a ten-year high. "We are currently experiencing high demand for cereals worldwide. This is not unusual in times of crisis stockpiling, although speculative expectations are also playing a certain role," explains Scherer.

Investment incentives for environmentally friendly technology

Targeted government investment incentives to promote climate and environmentally friendly production processes in agriculture also increased the buying mood of farmers and contractors in Europe and the USA. "Intelligent process solutions that significantly reduce the use of diesel, fertilizer and crop protection chemicals while increasing yields have long shaped our industry's product portfolios," says Scherer.

Growth in key segments

There was growth in several key segments in 2020. Tractors led the way with sales growth of 11 percent, which was also linked to the build-up of additional production capacity in Germany. Manufacturers of fertilizer and crop protection technology also closed the Corona year successfully. The main sales drivers here were machines for high-precision application with minimal input. The industry achieved double-digit sales growth with crop protection technology, while fertilizer technology producers recorded equally respectable growth of 6 percent. Both segments were thus able to continue the positive trend of previous years.

Anchor of stability in the machinery and plant engineering sector

"What is particularly pleasing is that we are seeing very sustained growth. For example, the agricultural machinery industry has been in the plus zone without interruption since 2017, making our sector an important anchor of stability in the machinery and plant engineering sector," sums up Bernd Scherer.

In the current year, the VDMA expects further growth in the end-customer markets for agricultural machinery and tractors, with a renewed increase in sales of 5 percent appearing realistic according to current forecasts.