Ag machinery sector asks for a programme extension to larger companies and coordinated renewal scheme

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The Covid-19 crisis has already started to show its consequences to the agricultural machinery sector. For months manufacturers have faced supply chain disruptions, yet managed to ensure the provision of essential services to farmers.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has announced its intention to mobilize € 40 billion to fight the Covid-19 crisis, by way of guarantee schemes to banks based on existing programmes for immediate deployment (20 billion), liquidity lines to banks to ensure additional working capital support for SMEs and mid-caps (10 billion) and asset-backed securities purchasing programmes to allow banks to transfer risk on portfolios of SME loans (10 billion).

A further pan-European guarantee fund was approved by the EIB Board of Directors, a € 25 billion European guarantee whose goal is to deliver up to € 200 billion for the European economy.

Despite this, liquidity remains an important challenge for the ag machinery industry.

CEMA has therefore asked the European Investment Bank to consider an extension of some of its programmes to larger companies or launching new specific programmes dedicated to them in order to further strengthen grant short-term liquidity to large corporates.

CEMA also asked for a coordinated renewal scheme for agricultural machineries across the EU to boost private and business demand, support sustainable economic recovery across the board as well as accelerate the renewal of the EU fleet. Effective fleet renewal schemes will further enhance environmental benefits towards EU climate ambitions and resource-efficiency targets.