In April 2024, there were 91 fewer registrations of new tractors compared to March of this year and a significant drop of 127 compared to the same month in 2023. Moreover, in the second primary category of agricultural machinery, namely agricultural trailers, the decrease is even more pronounced at 177 units compared to the same period last year. However, there is a clear and consistent upward trend in the secondary market.
The dust has settled after the temporary and slight rebound in the registration of new agricultural machinery seen in March, as evidenced by the data for April.
April 2024 marks a return to the downward trend in the registration of new agricultural machinery. The fourth month of this year witnessed a decline in both primary categories: trailers and tractors. According to data compiled by the Polish Chamber of Commerce for Agricultural Machinery and Equipment (PIGMiUR) based on CEPiK, the number of registered new tractors stood at 722. This is 91 fewer than the previous month and 127 fewer compared to April of last year when the number was 849.
“We are witnessing a return to the downward trend that we have been observing for some time now. The lack of clarity in governmental and EU decisions on issues significant to farmers (such as the Green Deal, imports of certain products from abroad, or their transportation through Poland), combined with the geopolitical situation, especially concerning what is happening beyond our eastern border, continues to make farmers treat the possibility of investing in new agricultural equipment with considerable caution,” says Hubert Seliwiak from PIGMiUR.
More striking are the data for the first third of this year. According to the Chamber, a total of 2759 new tractors were registered during the first four months of 2024. This is 595 fewer than in the same period in 2023, representing a registration decline of 17.7%.
Who leads in terms of new tractor registrations in the first four months of this year?
After April of this year, John Deere remains the most popular brand (with a 14% market share), as it was last year, with 386 registrations, although this is 188 fewer than the previous year. Kubota ranks second (with a 13.7% market share) with 379 registered machines, showing a slight increase of 5 units. New Holland closes the podium with 369 newly registered tractors. Deutz Fahr and Case IH follow. Geographically, the Mazowieckie Voivodeship leads, followed by Greater Poland and Łódź.
“While there are some minor shuffles in individual rankings, it’s worth noting that a similar trend is occurring in the second primary category of new machines, namely trailers. Here too, we see a clear decline,” comments Hubert Seliwiak.
Registration of new trailers: an even greater decline
In April 2024, 363 new agricultural trailers were registered. “This number fits into the trend of recent months, where a clear horizontal line is visible on the chart. The number of registrations since September of last year has not exceeded 420 per month. Since the beginning of the year, 1553 new agricultural trailers have been registered, which is 521 fewer than last year, representing a 25.1% decrease,” reads the PIGMiUR report. According to the data presented there, the most popular brand is Pronar with 374 registered new trailers, although this is 348 fewer than the previous year, representing a decline of 48.2%. The market share of this company has also decreased to 24.1%. Second in the ranking is Metal-Fach with 237 registrations and a market share of 15.3%, followed by Metaltech.
“While farmers are still waiting for decisions favorable to them, and some of these decisions—such as the amendment to the law on pawn loans—are already being made, causing them to hold off on purchasing new equipment, they continue to invest, albeit cautiously. This can be observed from the trend that has been clearly emerging in the secondary market for some time now,” says Hubert Seliwiak.
The secondary market for agricultural machinery continues to grow steadily
After four months of this year, PIGMiUR recorded 9429 registrations of used tractors. This is 708 more than after four months of 2023, representing an 8.1% increase. The leader in this market from January to April 2024 is John Deere, with a 16.6% market share, holding the top position in three age categories: 3-5, 6-10, and 11-20 years. In the oldest category, over 20 years old, Ursus is the leader. In the second primary category of “second-hand” machines, namely agricultural trailers, 2466 were registered from January to April of this year, which is 293 more than last year. “This means that we are currently seeing a 13.5% increase,” states PIGMiUR.
