The general mood of farmers in the Polish agricultural sector has deteriorated, according to the latest survey by the neighbouring country's Chamber of Agricultural Machinery and Farm Equipment (PIGMiUR).

The survey shows that the value of the sentiment index decreased by 0.11% compared to April this year, with the index dropping from -3.28 to -3.39 points.

„The deterioration in sentiment was due to deteriorating agricultural profitability, the introduction of the Green Deal and the lack of availability of subsidies for investment in innovative solutions and machinery“, – PIGMiUR stated.

„At the end of August and the beginning of September, the value of the Sentiment and Sentiment Index dropped below 3 points, despite the fact that in the spring, there was a slight optimism“," said Hubert Seliwiak‘, expert at PIGMiUR.

„The protracted process of examining applications for funding under the Rural Development Programme (RDP) 2014-2020 is limiting the sales of agricultural machinery companies, – according to the PIGMiUR report. As many as two thirds of entrepreneurs (67.4%) indicated that the conditions created by the authorities are not favourable for business.

This effectively echoes the criticisms of farmers and traders against the application evaluation agency, whose equivalent in Lithuania is the National Payment Agency (NPA). Thus, when we look at the situation in Lithuania and Poland, we see very similar sentiments among farmers.

The deterioration in the index is also due to external factors which have been influencing it for a long time. These include the war in Ukraine, the drastic increase in fertiliser, energy and fuel prices, the unstable price situation of agricultural products on the market and imports from the East.

„All this makes farmers wait for better and safer times for the second year in a row, hold back on investments and restrict themselves to essential investments“, – says PIGMiUR.

Despite the weaker index, 685 new tractors were registered in Poland in September 2024. This is 80 units more than in August this year and 253 units less than in September 2023. Since the beginning of the year, 5,864 new tractors have been registered in the country, or 1,302 fewer than in the same period last year (a decrease of -18.2%).

On the new trailer market, September was the month with the lowest number of registrations this year (356 units). In total, 4,200 new trailers were registered in the first nine months of the year, 852 fewer than in the same period last year (a decrease of 16.9%).

At the same time, experts stress the need for more targeted marketing tools to boost sales. It is necessary to look for something new and innovative, with the right message and channel.