Zoomlion steers into farming as property sector slows

Numbers behind a major industry

Chinese companies specializing in agricultural machinery are growing at an amazing rate.

They reported double-digit profits in the first six months of the year while other manufacturing sectors stagnated as China's economy slowed.

The country's industrial sector generated 2.84 trillion yuan ($447.2 billion) in profit in the first half of the year, down 0.7 percent compared to the same period in 2014. But it was a different story for the agricultural machinery industry, which increased 13.69 percent in the first six months, topping 11.8 billion yuan, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics and the China Association of Agricultural Machinery Manufacturers.

Despite the sluggish economy, the country's 2,200 farm machinery firms have posted strong overseas growth. In the first half of this year, they exported 15.87 billion yuan worth of products, up 0.51 percent year-on-year, the association reported.

One survey, conducted by ASKCI Consulting Co Ltd, a research company, showed that China's agricultural machinery industry grew faster than the country's manufacturing sector as a whole.

Data revealed that the agricultural machinery industry had 70.67 billion yuan in fixed assets during the first six months, up 25.9 percent compared to the same period last year. Foreign direct investment in the sector was 530 million yuan, up 180.3 percent year-on-year.

Last year, exports of China's farming machinery industry hit $10.57 billion, up 12.68 percent compared to 2013.

Exports of Chinese-made tractors and combine harvesters showed the largest increase, with year-on-year growth of 24.58 percent and 31.23 percent respectively, the National Bureau of Statistics said.