In April 2022, shortages of parts and components continued to weigh on activity in the agricultural equipment sector: the turnover of agricultural equipment distributors remained almost stable compared to April 2021 (0.2%), after 3 .1% the previous month.
Manufacturing activity also slowed (+1.0% after +2.4% in March).
Bottlenecks continue to undermine factory production lines and distribution network. Over the first four months of 2022, the turnover generated by the entire sector, distributors and manufacturers combined, still remains above the levels of 2021 (by +5.5% compared to the same period of 2021) and 2019 (+13.9% versus the first four months of 2019).
Foreign trade in agricultural equipment slowed down in April 2022: exports and imports rose moderately in on year (+1.1% and +2.7% respectively). Over the first 4 months, imports grew by +16.5% while exports increased by +3.2%. This growth differential is reflected in a further widening of the trade deficit, which amounts to €650 million over the first 4 months of the year and to €1,790 million over the last 12 months (an historically unprecedented level ).
After a month of May 2022 that held up well, the first registrations of agricultural equipment decreased in June 2022: -9.4% vs. June 2021, after +3% the previous month (-0.3% cumulatively over the first six month of 2022 compared to the same period of 2021).
For the first time since the start of the war in Ukraine, the business climate index for the European agricultural machinery industry is starting to rise slightly, by +5 points compared to the previous month.
According to the manufacturers surveyed in early July, "only" 35% of companies are planning a temporary shutdown of production in the next four weeks. France still monopolizes first place in the ranking of the best-rated countries for the dynamism of its six-month market.
The rise in producer prices for all agricultural products continued in May 2022, but at a slower pace than in previous months: +28.9% compared to May 2021, after a continuous acceleration since start of the war in Ukraine. Despite a certain slowdown in world trade in volume, prices for cereals, oilseeds and wines remain firm. The unfavorable weather conditions which raise fears of very sharply reduced harvests are supporting prices.
Weighed down by generalized inflation and the fear of a global recession, the prices of industrial raw materials, including oil, have partially fallen. Good news for industrialists in the sector, which have been heavily impacted by the surge in prices since the war in Ukraine, even if the tensions on the commodity markets have existed since 2021.
