In the first eight months of the year, registrations fell by more than the average recorded in Europe (-3%). In addition to rising prices and interest rates, the slowdown in the purchase incentive system also weighed on market trends. Declines were most marked in Apulia (-19%), while waiting for the funds allocated by the NRRP (EUR 47 million) to be released.
In the first eight months of the year, the Italian tractor and trailer market fell, while other types of machinery were in the black. Tractor registrations – according to data processed by FederUnacoma (the Italian manufacturers’ association) on the basis of Ministry of Infrastructures and Transport registrations – in the January-August period were down 10% for tractors compared to the same period in 2022, and down 7.5% for trailers, while combines were up 28.5%, flatbed tractors up 24.8% and telehandlers up 11.6%. The Italian tractor market suffered a larger drop than the European average, which, according to data from the European Manufacturers’ Committee CEMA, recorded a drop of 3% in the first eight months of the year.
In addition to economic uncertainty and rising prices and interest rates – FederUnacoma president Mariateresa Maschio argued during the press conference held this afternoon at the Fiera di Bari on the eve of the Agrilevante exhibition – the national market is also affected by the reduction in public incentives for the purchase of agricultural machinery. After having been a driving factor in recent years – also due to the simultaneous presence of several incentives (such as the RDP, Decree 4.0, the INAIL measure for machinery with high safety standards, the Sabatini Law for capital goods) – government incentives are now slowing down due to delays linked above all to the application of the NRRP and the Innovation Fund launched by the government.
In this context, the Apulia Region is also suffering a downturn in purchases (-19%), registering a total of 986 registered tractors in the first eight months (mainly in the provinces of Foggia and Bari, with 309 and 252 units respectively) compared to 1,219 registered in the same period last year. The Region is still far from receiving the substantial funds allocated to it under the NRRP – it was explained during the conference – if it is true that in the distribution of the 400 million euros earmarked for agricultural mechanisation, more than 47 million are allocated to Puglia, the largest share among Italian regions.
“The renewal process of Puglia’s agro-mechanical fleet must not slow down – concluded Mariateresa Maschio – in view of the need to replace old models with new-generation vehicles. The tractor fleet, which in Puglia today numbers 138,900 units, equal to 7% of the national total, is largely made up of obsolete vehicles, often not suited to the needs of an increasingly competitive agriculture”.
