Harvester market basically saturated, grain processing machinery set to become growth hotspot

The biggest difference between this year's summer harvest and summer planting and the past lies in the high level of mechanization. Wheat is now basically all machine-harvested, and summer planting is also mainly done by machine. Agricultural machinery has gradually become the main player in agricultural production and is gradually becoming the development direction of agriculture in the future. Today's Agricultural Economy Ramblings has invited He Zhiwen, Director of the Achievement Transformation Division of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Mechanization Sciences, to talk about the development direction of China's agricultural machinery industry.

He Zhiwen: In terms of major categories, this year's market is dominated by several major segments: harvesters, rice transplanters, dryers, tractors, and facility agriculture. Combine harvesters have seen fairly obvious fluctuations compared with last year. From last year to this year, subsidies have basically remained stable at around 20 billion. Agricultural machinery is mainly subsidized by the state. From the first quarter to the end of the second quarter this year, the growth rate of various harvesters has been around 3%. The harvester market is mainly driven by policy subsidies. Starting this year, agricultural machinery subsidies have been allocated to local governments, giving local authorities greater room for operation. Now, regardless of the type of machinery, the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River use medium-sized machines, while the north uses large ones. In particular, this year, because machines with a 4-kilogram feeding capacity have basically withdrawn from the market, in the range above 4 kilograms and up to 7 kilograms, this market accounted for about 30% this year, that is, domestic ones, while foreign brands accounted for one third, and products in another part of the market accounted for one third, which is the 3-3-3 situation. In terms of varieties, wheat is the main one, corn is the main one, and corn machines are relatively strong. Therefore, based on market research this year, from the first three months to the fourth month, there were more than 5,100 corn harvesters, an increase of 30% year-on-year. Looking at our country, in recent years agricultural machinery has been operating at a high level in terms of sales and other aspects. Going forward, the state will carry out transformation for both agricultural mechanization and enterprises. Under the traditional agricultural machinery, traditional planting methods, and bulk varieties, development should expand horizontally. There may be talk of facility agriculture, mechanization of grain crops, and directions such as the cultivation stage and post-harvest storage and processing. These will be dominant in China's agricultural machinery market in the future. In terms of crops, there may be developments in the harvesting and sowing of cash crops. In terms of hotspots, post-production grain processing and grain drying may be hotspots. From what can be seen now, large-scale machinery related to comprehensive straw utilization and straw burning, as well as some grassland-related machinery connected with animal husbandry, will be a highlight of the future market.