The volume of exports of products of Russian agricultural machinery factories in the 1st quarter of 2021 increased 2.2 times compared to the same period last year and reached 3.9 billion rubles. Recall that in 2020, Russian machine builders demonstrated record indicators of foreign shipments of agricultural machinery, which amounted to 15.9 billion rubles.
In total, in January-March of this year, Russian agricultural machinery was supplied to farmers from 23 countries. The main foreign markets in the first quarter were the countries of the CIS and the European Union.
In quantitative terms, the largest export growth was recorded in the following main segments: shipments abroad of all-wheel drive agricultural tractors increased 2.8 times, plows - 2.4 times, balers - 2.2 times, harrows - 88 %, grain harvesters - by 46%.
In 2021, shipments to Lithuania in monetary terms increased 5.4 times, to Germany - 5 times, to Bulgaria - by 65%, to Kyrgyzstan - by 58%, to Mongolia - by 54%, to Poland - by 49%.
Among the main reasons for the growth are the high prices for grain on the world market, thanks to which the agricultural business abroad has additional funds to upgrade equipment. In addition, in Q1 2020, due to strict restrictions related to the spread of coronavirus infection and investment uncertainty, many farms postponed the decision to purchase agricultural machinery. There is now a deferred demand.
In addition, today Russian manufacturers do not experience such problems with the supply of components as some foreign companies. This is due to the high share of localization of products and the fact that domestic factories for the production of components did not suspend their work in 2020 and 2021.
The existing set of state support measures aimed at stimulating production (Program 1432 and preferential leasing), subsidizing R&D and transportation have a positive effect on the development of the export of Russian agricultural machinery. Thanks to these mechanisms, enterprises can afford to invest in the expansion and modernization of production facilities, in the development and release of new models.
One of the main problems for manufacturers of specialized equipment is the unprecedentedly high rise in metal prices. It started in 2020 and continues. A survey of factories carried out by the Rosspetsmash Association shows that over the year, the prices for the products of metallurgical companies have risen by an average of 50-80%, depending on the type.
Many farmers renew their fleet only thanks to state support mechanisms. Under the terms of these programs, factories are limited in price increases by a deflator coefficient (in 2021 it is 5%). Therefore, enterprises, having set the price for their products in December 2020, can no longer increase it, even if the metal has risen sharply and continues to rise in price. Such a rigid framework for the pricing policy of manufacturers of specialized equipment allows buyers to fully plan investments in the modernization of the fleet. Russian factories take their obligations with full responsibility, because the timing of agrotechnical work depends on it.
If the problem of rising metal prices is not resolved in a timely manner, it will be difficult for Russian manufacturers of agricultural machinery to maintain the growth rates of export supplies and production in general, the ROSSPETSMASH association said.
