AGCO announced today that it is expanding its presence in Russia following the country’s recent entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO).

“The country presents a huge opportunity for investments by foreign companies looking to support the Russian agriculture industry,” says Eric Raby, vice president of global marketing and commercial development at AGCO. “In addition to Russia’s entry into the WTO, Russia’s agricultural community provides opportunities for companies like AGCO due to a number of factors.”

He says such factors include the country’s proximity to Chinese and Eurasian markets; an abundant water supply; highly fertile crop land and the world’s largest reserve of arable land, according to the World Food Program; and, a growing need for advanced agriculture equipment.

The company says it plans to invest substantial resources to expand its production capacity in Russia to meet growing market demand. One of the areas in which it plans to expand production is grain handling equipment, a market AGCO recently entered through its acquisition of GSI Holdings, a manufacturer of grain storage, material handling, conditioning and drying equipment. 

“Russia is one of the single largest countries with respect to arable land so this decision to continue to invest is certainly of high importance for our company,” says Eric Raby, vice president of global marketing and commercial development at AGCO. “But we’re not just interested in growing our bottom line; we view the WTO move as something that opens the doors for AGCO to provide much-needed services that will support the growth of Russia’s agricultural community. Many of the broad-acre applications in which we operate in North America can be applied to Russia; this is a familiar area that AGCO’s North American and European operations are already well-versed in, and we are well equipped to apply this knowledge and our industry-leading products directly to the Russian market.”

Products that AGCO currently manufactures in Russia and supplies to Russian farmers include:

Products that AGCO plans to commence assembling and manufacturing in Russia include: