China Agricultural Machinery Market

China is in the midst of a large-scale transformation from traditional labor-intensive farming practices to modern, mechanized agriculture. In December 2018, the State Council released the “Guiding Opinions on Accelerating the Promotion of Agricultural Mechanization and Transformation and Upgrading of Agricultural Machinery Equipment Industry.” This policy guidance called for an increase of the mechanization rate for crop cultivation and harvesting to 75% by 2025 compared to 67% in 2018.

According to data from China’s General Administration of Customs on six primary categories of agricultural machinery (excluding tractors), China imported USD $799.05 million in agricultural machinery in 2020, a year-on-year increase of 14.6% despite the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on global trade.

China has acknowledged its challenges in agricultural production. The Chinese government has identified the main challenges as increasing output pressure on limited arable land, limited water supply, environmental pollution, ecosystem degradation, and inefficient management practices. Although U.S. companies will face strong competition from Chinese manufacturers, opportunities exist in some high-end product sectors, including precise harvest machinery, advanced irrigation, drainage and storage systems, grain drying equipment, IoT technology, as well as supply chain and farm management systems.

For more information please contact Agribusiness.China@trade.gov.