Major Events in The Agricultural Machinery Industry in 2023

2023 has become a thing of the past, and the agricultural machinery industry has gone through a period of ups and downs. Recently, I have seen many media outlets and peers reviewing important news or events for 2023. I didn't want to write anymore, but after everyone has summarized and reviewed it, I feel that there are some differences. Taking advantage of the well-known industry media website Agricultural Machinery Communication, I still want to join in the fun.

1、 Premier inspects agricultural machinery enterprises

News: During his research in Heilongjiang from November 14th to 16th, Li Qiang, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Premier of the State Council, called for the concentration of all parties to strengthen cooperation in tackling key issues and accelerate the development of agricultural mechanization and intelligence at the well-known agricultural machinery navigation, remote monitoring and other equipment manufacturer Huida Technology Company.

Comment: The Premier's inspection of agricultural machinery enterprises reflects the important role of agricultural mechanization and the attention of national leaders to the cause of agricultural mechanization. The Prime Minister's instructions have also pointed out the direction for the development of the agricultural machinery industry. Agricultural machinery workers are greatly encouraged.

2、 The Ministry of Agriculture and Industry jointly held the National Conference on Shortcomings in Agricultural Machinery Equipment and Strengthening the Stable Chain of Agricultural Machinery

News: On October 26th, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology jointly held the National Conference on Shortcomings in Agricultural Machinery Equipment and Strengthening the Stable Chain of Agricultural Machinery in Chenzhou, Hunan. Tang Renjian, Secretary of the Party Group and Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Jin Zhuanglong, Secretary of the Party Group and Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, attended the meeting and delivered speeches. Mao Weiming, Deputy Secretary of the Hunan Provincial Party Committee and Governor, delivered speeches. Leaders of leading companies in the industry such as Weichai Lovol and Zoomlion Heavy Industry attended the meeting.

Comment: It is unusual for the two departments to jointly hold such a high-level special meeting on the development of agricultural machinery once again. The two supervisory departments attach so much importance to agricultural machinery, which also deeply inspires industry professionals. The agricultural machinery industry should face the gap and strive to catch up.

3、 The agricultural machinery market experienced an extremely cold moment, becoming the first year of decline in nearly two decades

News: Due to the implementation of the fourth national policy and the decrease in subsidies in some regions, the growth of the agricultural machinery market in 2023 reached a historic low, with tractors and harvesting machinery experiencing varying degrees of decline. On December 12th, leaders of the China Agricultural Machinery Industry Association stated at the 2023 National Agricultural Machinery Industry Work Conference held in Guiyang that the agricultural machinery industry ranked last in the machinery industry in 2023, with 70% of sub sectors experiencing a decline. 2199 enterprises above designated size, with an estimated business revenue of 240 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 10.38% in business revenue; The total profit decreased by 14.36% year-on-year.

The sales of bundling machines decreased by 22.69% year-on-year from January to October; The sales of hand-held rice transplanters decreased by 7.25% year-on-year; The sales of corn harvesters decreased by 25.8% year-on-year; The sales of tracked tractors decreased by 29.73% year-on-year; The sales of wheeled harvesters decreased by 24.9% year-on-year; The sales of walking tractors decreased by 0.12% year-on-year; The sales of large and medium-sized trailers decreased by 6.09% year-on-year. Only the sales of high-speed rice transplanters increased by 43.51% year-on-year, and the sales of small four-wheel transplanters increased by 95.29% year-on-year.

Comment: The slow economic recovery, coupled with factors such as the fourth national policy and lower subsidy rates in various regions, has made the agricultural machinery industry unbearable. The future is beautiful, but the road is winding. Agricultural machinery colleagues need to "resist pressure, walk steadily and achieve long-term goals.".

4、 Three ministries and bureaus issued a document calling for accelerating the improvement of the quality level of agricultural machinery products

News: On October 20th, the General Office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and the State Administration for Market Regulation issued a notice on accelerating the improvement of the quality level of agricultural machinery products, proposing to follow the requirements of the "Outline of Building a Quality Strong Country", with the goal of fully meeting the needs of farmers for high-quality agricultural machinery products, focusing on improving the level of product research and development, manufacturing, and after-sales support, and strengthening the main responsibility of enterprises, Strengthen product quality supervision, improve product promotion, application, and maintenance service levels, accelerate the filling of shortcomings and weaknesses in large-scale high-power high-end intelligent agricultural machinery equipment and small machinery suitable for hilly and mountainous areas, continuously strengthen the reliability, durability, and performance testing and verification of agricultural machinery equipment, continuously improve the quality level of agricultural machinery products, and provide strong support for the comprehensive and high-quality development of agricultural mechanization throughout the entire process.

Comment: The joint publication of this article by the three departments can be said to have seized the bull's nose of the current development of the agricultural machinery industry. At present, the biggest pain point in the domestic agricultural machinery industry is the lack of product strength, and there is an urgent need to improve product reliability and quality. The quality issues of agricultural machinery products affect the healthy development of the agricultural machinery industry and the high-quality development of the agricultural mechanization industry.

5、 Lowering the subsidy rate for purchasing machines in multiple regions

News: Since 2023, several major agricultural machinery consuming provinces have reduced or supplemented their wheeled tractors, with the highest reduction or subsidy of 25000 yuan for wheeled tractors in Henan Province; In Jilin Province, 14 out of 21 grades of tractor products have been downgraded, and the subsidy for four-wheel drive power shift tractors with 200 horsepower and above has been reduced from 61600 yuan to 44800 yuan, with a reduction of 27.3%; The four-wheel drive tractors and power shift tractors with 200 horsepower and above in Heilongjiang Province have decreased by 27700 yuan and 25700 yuan respectively.

Comment: Policy changes, especially the reduction of subsidy rates, are of great concern to agricultural machinery enterprises and users. I hope that the government will continue to increase subsidies, provide more money, not lower it, and stabilize the expectations of agricultural machinery producers, sellers, and users.

6、 China International Agricultural Machinery Exhibition reopened after the epidemic, with a new record high in exhibition scale

News: From October 26th to 28th, the 2023 China International Agricultural Machinery Exhibition was grandly held in Wuhan, with over 2300 domestic and foreign agricultural machinery enterprises participating. The exhibition covers an area of 220000 square meters and has over 150000 professional visitors. The "Asia's First Agricultural Machinery Exhibition" is well deserved and truly deserving of its reputation.

Comment: Having accumulated energy for a year, coupled with the fact that the International Agricultural Machinery Exhibition itself is the largest PARTY platform in the industry, and everyone has not lost confidence in the agricultural machinery industry, this year's International Agricultural Machinery Exhibition is unprecedentedly grand. Meanwhile, based on the influence of China International Agricultural Machinery Exhibition and its role in the national agricultural machinery industry, no other exhibition can replace it. In the era of networking, physical international agricultural machinery exhibitions are also indispensable and indispensable.

7、 The Hanover Agricultural Machinery Exhibition was grandly held, and Chinese enterprises dressed up to participate in the exhibition

News: The world's largest agricultural machinery exhibition, AGRITECHNICA 2023, was held from November 12th to 18th at the Hanover Exhibition Center in Germany after being closed for one session due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a top event in the global agriculture and agricultural machinery industry, this year's Hanover Exhibition has attracted 2811 companies from 52 countries to make a concentrated appearance. It is worth mentioning that this time, Chinese agricultural machinery enterprises ranked third in the world in terms of exhibition scale, only behind domestic German and Italian enterprises, reaching 182.

Comment: Going out is the only way for Chinese enterprises. In the current situation, actively expanding overseas has become a hopeful path for many domestic enterprises.

8、 The fraudulent subsidy incident of a certain enterprise in Henan has had a negative impact

News: On the evening of December 1st, CCTV's "Economic Half Hour" reported that a company in Henan province was involved in the subsidy issue of rice side deep fertilization machines in Jiangsu and Guangxi, reflecting the collusion of illegal enterprises and relevant personnel to illegally obtain subsidies for the purchase and application of agricultural machinery, and to carry out suspected illegal and irregular activities.

Comment: Which is tolerable and which is intolerable. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and other departments quickly took action to investigate and punish. Agricultural machinery enterprises must always maintain a sense of respect for regulations and operate legally and compliantly. This is the right path for sustainable business operations.

9、 Agricultural machinery enterprises make new progress in entering the capital market

News: On April 6th, Huaxi Technology, a bundling machine enterprise in Xinxiang City, landed on the Beijing Stock Exchange; On August 16th, the agricultural machinery automatic navigation equipment enterprise Sinan Navigation landed on the Science and Technology Innovation Board of the Shanghai Stock Exchange; On August 18th, Weima Agricultural Machinery, which focuses on machinery in hilly and mountainous areas, landed on the ChiNext board of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

Comment: Going public not only relieves financial pressure and enhances brand influence, but also enhances the influence of the agricultural machinery industry in the minds of the general public. Of course, going public is not the only purpose. Going public empowers the development of enterprises and cannot put the cart before the horse.

10、 Agricultural machinery plays a major role in disaster prevention and relief

News: At the beginning of this summer's harvest, the main wheat producing areas in Henan, Anhui, and other areas were hit by rotten rain. On July 27th, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs issued a special document deploying early preparation of disaster relief equipment and emergency operation teams, effectively playing the main role of agricultural machinery in agricultural production and emergency disaster relief; In early August, affected by Typhoon Dussuri on the 5th, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the Ministry of Emergency Management issued an emergency notice emphasizing the need to mobilize water pumps and other drainage and irrigation machinery and equipment from multiple channels to support disaster stricken areas in carrying out disaster relief and draining accumulated water in the fields; On August 9th, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs held a special meeting to further deploy agricultural disaster relief and autumn grain production work. At the meeting, it was mentioned to adjust and dispatch drainage equipment, prepare more tracked tractors, etc., to ensure that it does not affect the sowing of winter wheat; On October 3rd, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs emphasized the need to do a good job in autumn grain disaster relief when deploying the defense work against Typhoon No. 14 "Little Dog". Emphasis should be placed on organizing emergency operation service teams for farmers and agricultural machinery to seize the opportunity before and during rainfall, to harvest mature crops such as rice and corn, and to air dry them in a timely manner to ensure that the particles are returned to the warehouse. Dispatch machinery to rush to drain accumulated water from flooded fields.

Commentary: Agricultural production is fighting against natural disasters and seizing agricultural time. In the context of frequent natural disasters, agricultural machinery has become the main force in agricultural disaster prevention and reduction this year. The position and importance of the "dual main forces" of agricultural machinery are increasing day by day.