Harvesting the 2020 spring rice crop in Hoa Binh commune of Vu Thu district, Thai Binh province. (Photo: VNA)Data from the Ministry of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment in 2020 shows that the level of mechanisation in agriculture isincreasing in the pre- and post-harvest stages. Specifically, the rate ofmechanisation of agricultural land preparation reached 94 percent; 42 percentof sowing and planting care reached 77 percent and that of rice harvest reached65 percent, according to Ken Research.
Compared to 2011, in 2019, the number of tractors acrossthe country increased by about 48 percent, combine harvester increased by 79percent, and agricultural dryer increased by 29 percent. The farm power availabilityreached about 2.4 HP per ha cultivated.
Due to rapid urbanisation, most of the farmers areshifting to construction and services sector in the hope of earning more wages.Consequently, this has led to a shortage of agriculture labour in Vietnam. Thishas acted as a major driver for the implementation of machinery in agriculture.The transition of occupational structure from agriculture to other sectors israpidly occurring in the four regions, namely the Red River Delta, the NorthCentral and the Central Coastal areas, the Mekong River Delta, and the SouthEast.
The demand for agricultural machines decreased during theCOVID-19 pandemic. This was due to low production and closure of dealershipsand retail shops during lockdown. This was further fuelled by decrease infarmer's income which led to postponing of agricultural machinery purchases.
Additionally, agricultural equipment companiesexperienced cash flow difficulties due to the fact that most of the importswere banned and local manufacturing and assemblies were shut down. The demandfor machines in the country remained low at the starting of 2020, however therewas an increase in demand in the second half of the year post ease inconfinement. Slow recovery is expected in 2021.
Analysts at Ken Research observed that Vietnam is agrowing agricultural machinery market in Southeast Asia and is slowlyrecovering from the pandemic. The increasing credit availability in the countryalong with exemption in taxes is driving the growth of the industry.
Increasing focus on promotional and marketing activities,new product launches, partnerships & collaborations are expected to drivethe industry in the future. The country’s agricultural machinery market isexpected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.4 percent on thebasis of sales revenue over the forecast period 2020-2025./.
VNA
