Opportunity--Agricultural machinery

This is from the US Government:

Overview
According to various resources, an immediate demand to replenish the physically depreciated farm and processing equipment in Ukraine is estimated at $5-10 billion, with an annual supply of $1-2 billion worth of farm equipment.

Experts estimate the current level of physical depreciation of agricultural machinery and equipment at 70-80 percent, compared to 55-60 percent in 1999. Approximately 40 percent of tractors are 15-25 years old. The need to replace basic farm machinery is becoming critical.

Best Prospects/Services
There are about 40 manufacturers of agricultural machinery in Ukraine, which still supply a significant part of Ukraine’s agricultural machinery, in particular, ploughs, harrows, cultivators, seeders and sprayers. Production facilities at most agricultural machinery plants are currently being utilized at levels ranging from 15 to 30 percent. The price of domestically produced agricultural machinery is not cheap, because of inefficient and outdated manufacturing technologies. All this makes local machinery less attractive for agricultural companies.

Western European firms actively operate in the Ukrainian market. They understand that despite the obstacles to doing business in Ukraine, the potential for hard currency agribusiness exports is great.

U.S. agricultural machinery has a good reputation in Ukraine. The list of U.S. manufacturers includes AGCO Corporation, Massey Ferguson, John Deere, Caterpillar, and Case/New Holland. They offer a full range of equipment and parts, including spare parts, for cultivating, growing, harvesting and transporting, as well as equipment for livestock production. While U.S. machinery is well represented in Ukraine, there are still good opportunities for U.S. companies to enter the Ukrainian agricultural machinery market. Existing critical demand for reconditioned (used) machinery is worth mentioning as well.

Opportunities
The supply of second-hand machinery from Europe has gradually decreased, and with the dollar exchange devaluation, this opens more opportunities for American exporters of used agricultural machinery. There is currently a critical demand for dependable farm machinery due to the lack of reliable domestic manufactures. High-quality U.S. equipment can have a positive impact on Ukrainian agricultural productivity. Ukraine also offers excellent opportunities for US companies to expand to other regional markets such as Russia, other CIS countries, and new European Union (EU) member countries in Central and Eastern Europe. Doing Business In Ukraine: A Country Commercial Guide for U.S. Companies, US Foreign Commercial Service and US Department of State.

I will just add that I have seen the deterioration firsthand. It's a joke that farmers in the US use bailing wire to keep things going, but here it really isn't a joke. A lot of the machinery is very old and what often happens is that one tractor or harvester is cannibalized for parts for the others to keep them running.

The other point is that the companiess here that manufacture agricultural machinery cannot keep up with demand. They put out just so many a year and that's it. So it can be tough to get what you need in the market here anyway. And the quality is suspect. Most would prefer foregn brands, though there is a concern that they might not be able to get them fixed if there is a problem. But that's a service problem that could be solved easily.