The portal area dedicated to conferences and cultural events is particularly rich and dynamic. In the five days of the Digital Preview, institutions, associations and specialized publishing houses will create a calendar of online events. These will be interesting not only because of the selected topics, but also for the captivating presentation methods and innovative languages.

Scheduled in Bologna from 3 to 7 February, the great event of agricultural machinery ensures compliance with rigorous safety standards that supplement national and international regulations with organizational and logistical criteria specifically designed for this exhibition. Among the most significant innovations, the wi-fi control room for monitoring the crowding of the exhibition venues, the task force responsible for controlling any gatherings, and the booking service for refreshment points.

Around 2,000 companies will participate in the virtual EIMA Digital Preview exhibition, dedicated to agricultural machinery and technologies, which takes place from 11 to 15 November. Organized on the basis of the 14 product categories of EIMA International, the exhibition spaces of the digital exhibition are structured into virtual rooms. There are six types of stands provided, according to the square metres assigned to the companies participating in EIMA International.

The digital edition of EIMA International, which allows you to experience the exhibition in virtual reality, aims to ferry the market towards a recovery. The data on tractor sales in April and May, which were most directly affected by the stoppage of activities for the Covid emergency, indicate decreases in Europe of 25.8% and 22.6% respectively, with an overall reduction of 12% in the first five months of the year. Demand is growing in other areas of the world: businesspeople from 40 countries are expected at EIMA Digital Preview.

The EIMA press conference of 23 July will be an opportunity to present the new platform for the Digital Preview, which will be held in November, and to provide details on the "traditional" edition set for February 2021. The technical features of the virtual EIMA and the prevention and safety protocols for the "physical" EIMA are the central themes of the conference, which will be streamed and followed by participants from all over the world.

With a 23.1% drop in the first three months of the year, the gardening sector is suffering from the health emergency. The March figure, characterized by the sharp reduction in activities, affected the balance sheet for the quarter and saw almost all product segments decline. Battery-powered models are still growing, on average for the quarter. According to Comagarden and the Morgan survey group, sales will pick up from May, but last year's levels cannot be recovered. A 9% decline is expected at the end of the year.

The great event presenting machines and equipment for agriculture and green area maintenance responds to the health emergency and moves its 44th edition from mid-November 2020 to early February 2021. However, the November rendezvous is not cancelled, turning instead into a digital mega-event, an absolute innovation in the history of the industry's showcases.

The sales figures for the first part of the year show a collapse in March, characterized by the slowdown in activities and then by the stoppage of production sites. Even with a reopening of the industrial plants, the second half of the year will remain conditioned by the reduction in the volumes produced and by the lower investment capacity of farms.

The President of agricultural machinery manufacturers disputes the new decree, which excludes the sector from the agri-food chain, preventing supplies to farms that need them urgently. "Our requests and those of farmers are rational and transparent - says Malavolti - while the reasons of those who oppose us are obscure and incomprehensible".

The risks associated with the spread of Covid-19 impose special prevention rules, but agricultural machinery companies are maintaining good production rates, also to satisfy foreign demand, which accounts for 70% of the sector's turnover. The organization of EIMA International, the world exhibition to be held in Bologna from 11 to 15 November, is running at full capacity.

Sales of green space maintenance machines and equipment held their 2018 levels. After the significant increases recorded in the initial months of the year, demand decreased in the fourth quarter due to bad weather conditions that blocked maintenance operations. The uncertainties related to Coronavirus are affecting the current year.

The national tractor market in 2019 stalled at 18,579 units, while sales of used machines soared to 39,800. Brand new vehicles grew by 0.7% in the year compared to a 5.3% increase for second-hand ones. The drop in agricultural incomes (which fell by 2.6% in 2019) reduces the investment capacity of businesses, fuelling a fallback market that worsens the quality and environmental impact of agricultural processes.

Data on the sales of tractors in the leading countries indicate growth in the United States and Europe in 2019, while India, China and Turkey are decreasing. Exports of Italian machinery are growing. Negative forecasts for the first months of the new year.

Registrations stood at 18,579 in 2019, in line with the average figure for recent years. As regards the other types of machines, combine harvesters, tractors with loading platforms and trailers are decreasing, while telescopic handlers are growing.