A deficit of almost 20% for the market for machinery and equipment for green care, which, in line with the results of the previous year, continues to be affected by weather anomalies and inflation. So say the Comagarden data, which however foresee a change in the second half of the year.
After the 15% drop in 2022, the negative trend for the market for gardening and green care machinery and equipment continues also in the first quarter of 2023. Sales data - released by the Comagarden manufacturers' association and the Morgan survey group - indicate a 19.6% decrease in units sold between January and March, with evident decreases for almost all types of vehicles.
Lawn mowers fell by 26.1%, motor hoes by 22.7%, chainsaws by 19.5%, petrol engine brushcutters by 26.9%, snow blowers by 43.6%, and negative results were also recorded for other types of machines, both professional and for hobby use.
The only exceptions are garden tractors, with growth of 11.6%, professional ride-ons (+17.6%) and robotic lawnmowers (+6.7%).
"The decline in sales, which characterizes the 15 months from January 2022 to March 2023, slows down a sector that has performed well in recent years, driven by the growing attention to green areas both by city administrations and by of individuals and hobbyists. The current situation - explains Comagarden - penalizes purchases because the anomalous meteorological trend, which saw a deficit of rain until March and therefore a lower vegetative activity of the plants, was joined by economic uncertainty and a rise in prices of machinery due to the increase in production costs”. Comagarden's forecast is to recover market shares in the coming months, in order to reduce the liability at the end of 2023 to 5%, net of weather forecasts.

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