On this page you can find some key facts about the UK markets for farm equipment and outdoor power equipment, along with information about exports of agricultural engineering products from the UK.
On this page you can find some key facts about the UK markets for farm equipment and outdoor power equipment, along with information about exports of agricultural engineering products from the UK.
As the name suggests, the farm equipment industry provides a range of machinery used by farmers. AEA members primarily supply equipment for use in the field, typically either to support the growing of crops or for the management of grassland and other fodder crops to feed animals.
The AEA estimates that the value of sales of agricultural machinery in the UK was about £2.5 billion in 2024. That is 11% lower than the record level reached in 2023 but is still up by around a quarter since 2020. The decline is entirely due to the reduced number of machines being sold across virtually all categories, which was partly offset by a further increase in the size and complexity of equipment being sold and a modest rise in prices.
The table below covers some of the main categories of equipment and shows the estimated size of the UK market for new equipment, in terms of the number of units delivered annually. Figures for tractors are based on registrations for road use. More details of tractor registrations can be found on the Tractor Statistics page. Figures for harvesting machinery are provided for seasonal years (running from September of one year to August of the next). For combine and forager harvesters, they are based on retail orders placed, not deliveries.
| Calendar year | 5-year average 2019-2023 | 2023 | 2024 | % change 2023-2024 | 2024 % diff from 5-year average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agricultural tractors (over 50hp) | 11,625 | 11,816 | 10,241 | -13 | -12 |
| Telehandlers | 3,720 | 4,400 | 3,630 | -18 | -2 |
| Sprayers | 680 | 850 | 645 | -24 | -5 |
| Tractor loaders | 3,200 | 2,260 | 1,760 | -22 | -45 |
| Ploughs | 530 | 420 | 335 | -20 | -37 |
| Power harrows | 840 | 650 | 460 | -29 | -45 |
| Grain drills | 770 | 660 | 540 | -18 | -30 |
| Fertiliser distributors | 1,940 | 1,700 | 1,050 | -38 | -46 |
| Mowers/mower conditoners | 2,750 | 2,070 | 1,490 | -28 | -46 |
| Tedders | 1,460 | 1,170 | 630 | -46 | -57 |
| Hay rakes | 1,310 | 1,070 | 760 | -29 | -42 |
| Utility ATVs | 7,370 | 7,800 | 6,300 | -19 | -15 |
| Utility vehicles (side x sides) | 6,410 | 7,000 | 5,920 | -15 | -8 |
| Seasonal year | 5-season average 19/20 - 23/24 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 | % change 23/24-24/25 | 2024/25 diff from 5-year average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Combines | 520 | 400 | 280 | -30 | -46 |
| Self propelled foragers | 160 | 155 | 140 | -10 | -12 |
| Round balers | 770 | 590 | 580 | -2 | -25 |
| Big square balers | 190 | 110 | 105 | -5 | -45 |
The total domestic market for outdoor power equipment has been estimated at around £940 million in 2022, 2% lower than the previous year. In 2021, the industry enjoyed exceptionally high sales volumes despite supply chain disruptions and delays. The industry was still looking at strong levels of order placing in the early part of 2022 and volume sales in the first half of the year showed a positive trend for most product segments. However, the second half of the year provided an unprecedented steep decline in demand that was not only induced by the economic and political turbulence that most industries were facing but also by the weather. Summer 2022 was the driest this century and the 4th warmest on record.
Despite a 10% decline in comparison to the previous year, consumer lawnmower sales reached 1.45 million units. Within domestic riding lawncare, it was the petrol ride-on and out-front volume that declined steeper that the market. Domestic (front engine) garden tractors declined at a similar rate to the overall market, while zero-turn petrol mowers increased by 7%. Following the long term trend to electrification, for the first time hybrid and battery driven equipment represented over 5% of the total segment.
Equally, the battery-driven segment within walk-behind mowers grew most strongly (+30% in comparison to 2021), to the detriment of petrol (-27%) and corded units (-15%). In 2022, for the first time this technological shift meant more battery-driven units were sold into the market than petrol walk-behinds.
Robotic mowers showed single-digit growth and their share of the overall market is significantly lower in the UK than in other north European countries.
In 2022, the overall volume of commercial mowers remained at similar levels to 2021. Although compact tractor sales by AEA members were similar to the two previous years, sub-compact tractors lost their gains from 2021. Diesel commercial units, mid-mounted as well as out-front, were equally on similar levels to the previous year.
After unprecedently high sales of handheld outdoor power tools in 2021, it was expected that 2022 volumes would be subdued as households emerged from lockdowns and were able to resume their travels to their preferred holiday destinations, spending less time in their gardens and surrounding green spaces.
Lawncare handheld equipment like lawn trimmers and brush-cutters saw increased sales in the first half of the year but declining demand in the warmer summer months. Overall, the segment declined in single figures. The remaining outdoor power handheld segments, such as hedge trimmers, chainsaws and garden vacs declined at double digit percentage rates as their demand peaks in autumn were subdued. Hedge-trimmers lost almost a third of their 2021 volume and chainsaws almost a quarter. Garden vacs and blowers declined by 8%.
Although the market share of battery-driven products continues to increase and is now over 38% of the total, overall volumes declined this year due to supply chain issues. Petrol and corded units declined at a similar rate to the overall market, being down by 18%.
UK exports of land-based equipment were worth much less in 2024 than the previous year, according to figures from His Majesty’s Revenue & Customs. The total value of exports during the year was £1.88 billion, 25% lower than in 2023 and the smallest figure for three years. The rate of decline increased as the year went on, with shipments in the first half of the year worth 15% less than a year before, while the year-on-year fall in the second half was a massive 38%. HMRC does not publish reliable figures on the number of machines involved but the mass of equipment exported in 2024 seems to have been the lowest since 2009. It was down by 24%, compared with 2023.
The fall in exports was driven by a drop of almost a third in the value of tractors leaving the UK. Tractors still made up over 55% of UK land-based equipment exports by value but their share was lower than usual in 2024. Exports of other types of farm equipment dropped by a more modest 10%, to just over £600 million, while outdoor power equipment exports fell by 9%, to £199 million.
It was a fairly similar story for imports, which declined from £2.76 billion in 2023 to £2.42 billion in 2024, a fall of 12%. Again, that was the lowest since 2021, with the mass of machinery imported at a four-year low and also 12% less than a year before. An even sharper decline in imports of farm equipment (-17%) was mitigated by higher imports of lawn mowers and powered hand tools. Again, the decline was faster in the second half of the year than the opening six months.
| Exports | Imports | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Product category | Value (£ million, 2024) | Change 2023-24 | Value (£ million, 2024) | Change 2023-24 |
| Tractors | 1,053.1 | -32% | 813.7 | -22% |
| Harvesting and threshing machinery | 258.6 | -6% | 460.6 | -13% |
| Mowers for lawns, parks and sport grounds | 194.9 | -8% | 315.6 | +24% |
| Soil preparation and cultivation machinery | 111.8 | -18% | 244.8 | -14% |
| Engines for tractors | 27.8 | -59% | 60.6 | -41% |
| Other agricultural and forestry machinery | 230.2 | -11% | 436.9 | -5% |
| Other outdoor power equipment | 4.2 | -43% | 85.4 | -0% |
| Total | 1,880.8 | -25% | 2,417.4 | -12% |