The resumption of major agricultural events in Brazil after a two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic will allow farmers to get a closer look at more connected machines. Major manufacturers project billion-dollar investments and revenues in the sector in the coming years.
Some equipment was launched virtually in the pandemic, but 2022 marks the possibility for buyers to see them in operation, which helps with the purchase decision. With this proximity, companies in the sector estimate a growth of at least 5% in business this year.
The return of events occurs with record sales compared to the pre-pandemic period.
At the 22nd Expodireto Cotrijal, held in Não-Me-Toque (RS) at the beginning of March, business totaled R$ 4.9 billion, according to the organizers’ estimate. The amount represents an increase of 87% in relation to the R$ 2.6 billion of 2020. The fair attracted 263 thousand visitors, more than the 256 thousand of the previous in-person edition.
“The producer’s currency is soybeans. As the price doubled, spot business grew, although the greater volume has still been carried out via banks”, said the president of Cotrijal, Nei César Manica, at the end of the fair.
The Agrishow (International Fair of Agricultural Technology in Action), which is the most awaited event of the agro in the rural calendar, is confirmed to take place between the 25th and 29th of April in Ribeirão Preto, after two years of postponements and cancellations due to Covid-19.
In Uberaba, in Triângulo Mineiro, the 87th edition of Expozebu was launched on the 16th and projects R$ 300 million in business between April 30th and May 8th. Among animal auctions and malls, there will be 41 activities this year, compared to 36 in the last edition.
“We’ve been preparing the event since 2020, when we need to cancel due to the pandemic. This meeting was long awaited, desired, and therefore promises to surprise”, said Rivaldo Machado Borges Júnior, president of ABCZ (Brazilian Association of Zebu Breeders), who organize the fair.
Event that receives national and foreign visitors, Expozebu will have different protocols for the public. Brazilians will have to carry a vaccination card and take an exam in a laboratory in front of the park, or bring a report that they have recently had Covid-19 and are cured. Foreigners must undergo a laboratory test.
Expodireto Cotrijal gave indications of how the fairs that will follow will be. Case, a brand of the CNH Industrial group, presented in Não-Me-Toque a harvester with a system that self-regulates and finds the work point for each situation, without operator intervention.
New Holland, another brand of the company, exhibited the first tractor powered by biomethane in the world, which was developed in England and was being tested in Brazil for five years.
CNH projects a 24% growth in global business by 2024. Agri represented 76% of last year’s US$ 17.8 billion revenue, compared to 16% for the construction sector and 8% for the group’s financial arm.
To reach this mark, the company plans to launch other vehicles powered by alternative fuels. The focus is on demand from its main markets, such as the US and Brazil. South America represents 16% of revenue, compared to 37% for Europe and North America.
“Global demand for agricultural products is growing, as are costs, which makes farmers look for ways to improve productivity, and this drives technological advances in the chain,” said Derek Neilson, president of the group’s agriculture division.
Despite Brazil’s economic difficulties, Oddone Incisa, CNH’s chief financial officer, said that agribusiness “walks on its own two feet” as the market is global. He also stated that financing from BNDES (National Bank for Economic and Social Development) has been important for sales of agricultural vehicles.
John Deere, which projects 5% market growth in Latin America this year, reported that the digitization of agriculture, which was already a reality, was driven by the pandemic – despite structural challenges in the sector, such as connectivity in the field.
“Even in the face of a still uncertain pandemic scenario and with the recent impacts of the war between Russia and Ukraine, we are optimistic about the resumption of face-to-face agricultural fairs, one of the main ways to cultivate relationships, establish business and learn about new technologies”, said Marcelo Lopes, director of sales at John Deere Brazil.
The company launched a platform in partnership with Climatempo and the consultancy Safras & Mercado, in addition to signing an agreement with Claro to expand connectivity.
“Currently, about 150 thousand hectares are connected through this initiative, with another 7 million prospected”, stated the director.
Massey Ferguson, in turn, launched in the pandemic products such as a tractor and a sprayer with technology that, according to the manufacturer, helps rural producers to earn up to two bags per hectare. Both will be seen at fairs, according to the brand’s sales director, Alexandre Stucchi.
“The fairs are showcases of our products and an opportunity to show what is most technological in machines to obtain greater productivity in the shortest time to carry out agricultural activities, and are also strategic opportunities for us to maintain proximity to producers”, said Stucchi.
The manufacturer presented at Expodireto Cotrijal the MF 500 Solo+ planter, developed for the cultivation of soybeans and corn in lowlands.
“Commodity prices, record harvests and the positive impact of the exchange rate make the producer continue to invest in machines that allow for greater productivity, connected to new technologies to produce more, spending less and with less impact on the environment,” said the Massey Ferguson’s sales director.
Valtra launched a sprayer aimed at small and medium-sized farmers in the pandemic. With options of spray bars of 25 and 28 meters, the equipment has an engine that, according to the manufacturer, allows saving up to 60% of fuel.
According to Alexandre Vinicius de Assis, sales director at Valtra, some factors converge to the growth in the sale of machinery in 2022, including the fact that the rural producer comes from excellent crops last year, with good productivity and positive profitability, which enables you to make investments and add technology to your business.
At Fendt, the commercial director for South America, José Galli, saw business grow in the Cerrado and Matopiba (Maranhão, Tocantins, Piauí and Bahia) during the pandemic.
“Our sales are usually the result of a close relationship with farmers, and that hasn’t changed even with social distancing,” he said. “I believe that the situation has brought other forms of business, commercially speaking.”
At the beginning of the pandemic, Fendt, which arrived in the country in 2019, launched a tractor in a virtual way. The resumption of face-to-face events is viewed by Galli with optimism, as the brand is expanding.
In 2021 concessionaires were opened in Balsas (MA), Campo Novo do Parecis (MT), Sidrolândia and Maracaju (MS), Rio Verde (GO) and Luis Eduardo Magalhães (BA).
“The expectation is for growth above the projected for the market, and the reflection of this is that we will deliver, in 2022, the targets set for 2025”, he said.
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