Leasing companies of the Association registered 2,153 units of agricultural machinery in 2020, which is 17% more than in the previous year. Therefore, by the end of the year, leasing showed growth in all key segments, despite the global and domestic recession.
The industry has managed to adjust business processes to meet new challenges and avoid the significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on funding in the agricultural segment. The growth of new registrations of agricultural machinery took place throughout the year, except for the fourth quarter, when registrations decreased by 22% compared to the previous one, caused by the seasonal cycle of the agro-industry. March and July were the peak months in 2020, during which 232 and 228 units of equipment were registered, respectively.
OTP Leasing (57% of all registrations for the period), Kredobank (15%), and Advance Leasing (11%) became the top three in terms of agricultural machinery registrations last year. Their total share in this segment was 84%.
The most common type of machinery among farmers were tractors, which accounted for 26% of the market, and New Holland tractors were in high demand (23% of the total). Next in popularity were the brands John Deere (16%) and Fendt (12%).
Outside the tractor segment, about 14% of new registrations were for tillage equipment, 14% for harvesters and another 11% for drills. Other types of equipment had a share of less than 10%.
The total fleet of agricultural machinery of leasing companies at the end of 2020 also increased by 14% and reached 4,805 units. Most equipment belongs to OTP Leasing (52% of the fleet of all members of the Association), the second place in this indicator is occupied by Kredobank (18%) and the third – Alfa-Leasing (9%).
Lessor companies and banks that are members of the Association represent about 80% of the Ukrainian leasing market, so the total amount of financing in the agricultural sector may be even slightly higher. In general, the industry demonstrates stability and reliability, almost not allowing external factors to influence ambitious plans to cooperate with domestic agricultural producers.