Sale of agricultural machinery remains stable in the 1st quarter – 05/04/2023 – Market

The forecast made by the industry in February indicates that the year will have a drop in sales of agricultural machinery, but the numbers obtained in the first quarter of 2023 give an encouragement that the scenario may be better than expectations.

A total of 14,145 wheeled tractors and grain harvesters were sold between January and March, representing a slight increase of 0.1% compared to the 14,128 sold in the same period last year, according to Anfavea (National Association of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers) .

The numbers were presented by the association at the Agrishow (International Fair of Agricultural Technology in Action), which takes place in Ribeirão Preto (313 km from São Paulo) until this Friday (5).

In February, Anfavea predicted a 3.5% reduction in sales for this year, which would cause sales in 2022, from 67,385 units, to fall to 65,000. Even so, given the high base of negotiations in recent years, it would be a very good number, in the assessment of Alexandre Bernardes de Miranda, one of the vice-presidents of Anfavea.

“In 2019 sales began to grow. At the end of 2022, shortly before the elections, producers took their foot off, in view of the natural uncertainties of elections. The numbers, however, are still interesting”, he said.

According to him, the expectation is that the federal government still announces the release of some complementary resource until the beginning of the next Crop Plan, in July, so that rural producers can buy machinery.

“Who is investing [atualmente] it’s because you need it. The farmer would like to have machine offers with a longer term [para pagamento]”, said Ana Helena de Andrade, also vice-president of the association.

The machine sales data in the first quarter were aided by the 9.2% increase in exports, which reached 2,372 units between January and March, compared to 2,172 in the same period last year.

The availability of resources with attractive interest rates for farmers, the increase in machine prices and uncertainties regarding the economy are seen as obstacles to a new leap in sales growth.

On the other hand, the long positive sequence of the grain harvest is an attraction for rural producers to renew or expand their fleets on farms, in the evaluation of executives. “It’s not just the machines that are more expensive, everything is more expensive due to the breakdown we’ve had in the world [como a pandemia, por exemplo]”, said Miranda, from Anfavea.

Decline in sales of road machinery

Sales of agricultural machinery maintained slightly positive figures this year, unlike road machinery, which dropped by 13.9% in the first quarter. Of the 8,331 units sold in 2022, the total dropped to 7,172 this year.

Included in this segment are backhoe loaders, wheel loaders, hydraulic excavators, motor graders, road rollers, skid steer loaders and telescopic handlers.