Record-breaking year for German food processing and packaging machinery sector
In 2023, the German food processing and packaging machinery sector reached a historic high, with production increasing by 5% to €16.5 billion. This sector, the fifth-largest within German mechanical engineering, employs over 62,000 people and boasts a global trade share of 22%.
Packaging machines account for around half of the production value. In 2023, companies increased their production by 10 percent to just under 8 billion euros. The beverage packaging machinery sector grew in particular, increasing by 18 percent to 2.8 billion euros. The production of so-called other packaging machines rose by 6 percent to 5.2 billion euros. A large part of the turnover was based on orders from 2022, as incoming orders remained rather subdued in 2023. One of the reasons for this was the discussion in respect to the new EU packaging regulation, which led to uncertainty and restraint among customer industries.
The food machinery industry showed varied performance across different sub-sectors. While meat and protein processing technology and bakery machinery maintained high production levels, the confectionery machinery industry rebounded strongly with a 23% increase to €354 million. Conversely, the production of beverage production machinery fell by 6 percent to 535 million euros in 2023, falling short of the record figure of 570 million euros set in 2022. In this sub-sector, the focus is on brewing machines. Due to the global measures taken during the coronavirus pandemic and the associated decline in consumption, production fell by 11 percent to 451 million euros in 2020. In the two subsequent years, production increased again by a total of 32 percent. The decline in 2023 is therefore also due to the high reference value of the previous year.
The general outlook for manufacturers of food processing and packaging machinery is good, as they are generally benefiting from rising global demand for food, beverages and pharmaceutical products. Following the strong export growth of 9 percent in 2023, foreign deliveries of food processing and packaging machinery also increased by 5 percent in the first quarter of 2024.
Order intake for packaging machinery increased
In the first four months of 2024, however, incoming orders in the food processing machinery and packaging machinery sectors were still 6 percent below the previous year’s level on a price-adjusted basis. The developments in the two sub-sectors differ significantly: the order intake for packaging machinery increased by 16 percent in real terms in the first four months compared to the weak same period of the previous year. In contrast, orders for food machinery fell by 12 percent in real terms in the same period, also influenced by base effects. According to the VDMA economic survey from April 2024, the current demand situation from the markets is rated as good to very good by over 40 percent of companies in the sector. Over 50 percent of manufacturers of food processing and packaging machinery are satisfied with the demand situation. All in all, most companies are positive about the outlook for 2024. In view of the persistently difficult frame conditions and of the high level achieved individually in the previous year, the majority of companies expects a moderate growth for 2024.
