Market Trends of Agricultural Machinery Industry
Low Availability of Skilled Labor
Declining per hectare area of arable land, low availability of skilled labor, and increasing food demand globally are some of the key factors increasing the adoption of agricultural machinery for efficient farming operations. Moreover, with rapid urbanization, urban areas offer a plethora of job opportunities, enticing rural households to migrate. This shift has resulted in a shortage of farm labor in various regions. In India, for instance, the number of people employed in the agriculture sector dropped from 158.2 million in 2022 to 147.9 million in 2023, as highlighted by a survey of the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE). Looking ahead, the Indian Council of Food and Agriculture projects a 25.7% decline in the percentage of agriculture workers in India by 2050. In North America and Europe, a significant reliance on seasonal immigrant workers has emerged, owing to dwindling domestic labor. This reliance has, in turn, driven up the cost of farm labor, prompting farmers to increasingly turn to cost-effective agricultural machinery.
Asia-Pacific Dominates the Market
China is one of the top producers of farming equipment and the largest market for agricultural machinery globally. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics of China, China produced 5,253,595 large and medium-sized tractors in 2022. Moreover, a decrease in human resources, rising agricultural labor costs, and government initiatives for farm mechanization are predicted to drive market expansion in the long run. In recent years, Japan also faced challenges related to the growing area of abandoned farmland. Therefore, mechanization of agriculture has become essential for Japan to overcome the shortage of farm labor. Besides this, India produces a massive volume of tractors and exports tractors globally. Also, the production and sales volume of significant players in the Indian market are growing, which directly indicates that the tractor market in India is rising. For instance, in India, in February 2022, Mahindra's Farm Equipment Sector sold 18,910 units. February 2022 saw 20,437 tractor sales (domestic + exports), compared to 28,146 units during the same month in the previous year.
