Brussels/Frankfurt/M., 19^th April 2022 – In recent months, the market for tillage implements and equipment for sowing, fertilizing and crop protection has developed better than expected, according to more than two thirds of the participants to the Product Groups meeting of European Agricultural Equipment Manufacturers on 15^th and 16^th March 2022.

Developments in Eastern Europe are however concerning for the industry and are clouding the optimistic outlook for the current year. While the end of the boom phase was expected, the start of 2022 with full order books suggested a good development at least for the first half of the year. Now, participants have revised their expectations for business development significantly downwards due to the outbreak of war in Ukraine and the sanctions against Russia and Belarus.

The three CEMA Product Groups for tillage, sowing and spreading and for crop protection met in Brussels, underlining the common goals of a strong European economy. Every year, CEMA provides a common platform for the industry, allowing for exchanges on general trends, in addition to meetings of the individual product groups.

The tillage group was pleased with market figures for the new product group "mechanical weed control", launched 2 years ago, when it became clear that this market was growing significantly. The chairman of the tillage group, Dirk Hollinderbäumer from Lemken, sees this as a real gain for the participating companies: “Especially with new market developments, it is valuable to be able to make a market assessment quickly”. In this context he also welcomed the companies Kult-Kress, Treffler and Evers Agro as new participants to the tillage group.

The plant protection equipment group discussed upcoming legislative changes for the use of plant protection products. The chairman of the group, Peter Dahl from Hardi, believes manufacturers of crop protection machines have a duty “to develop solutions to comply with the new regulations and help farmers meet the demands in combination with putting less footprints in the environment”.

When it comes to the group for equipment for sowing and for mineral fertilizer spreaders, the chairwoman, Elke Pankow from Rauch, sees economic dangers for the manufacturers of fertilizer spreaders, as well as for the equipment manufacturers: “Fertilizer prices, which have risen to up to threefold, and a supply shortage of fertilizer are increasing the demand for precision technology. An end to the price curve cannot be foreseen at the moment due to higher gas prices”. Furthermore, it was noted that the market seems to develop towards modular combined equipment. It was proposed to create exclusive statistics for two new products, Broad Cast Seeder and Front Tanks.

During the joint meeting, the Secretary General of CEMA Jérôme Bandry informed participants about the most important industry developments at European level. Discussions centred around topics such as carbon farming, sustainable use of pesticides, Farm2Fork and the first measures after the outbreak of war.

Nina Janßen, coordinator of the three CEMA product groups summarizes: “Given the global political situation this face-to-face meeting in Brussels took place at the right time: a moment in which Europe wants to show strong cohesion and unity. On this basis, the exchange on the technical trends and economic developments in our industry was of great value”.

The CEMA product groups are composed of leading European manufacturers of equipment for arable farming, for harvesting forage and hay, as well as tractors and combine harvesters. The main focus is placed on the joint evaluation of the market based on dedicated statistics. Currently, 27 companies from 12 European countries are members of the CEMA product groups in the field of arable farming. The prerequisite for participation is membership in a national industry association belonging to the umbrella organisation CEMA.

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