The German food machinery and packaging machinery industry increased its exports by 4% in the first half of 2024. In 2023, exports rose by 9% to 9.9 billion euros a new record. Whether this level will be reached in the current year depends heavily on the further development of incoming orders.

In July, incoming orders in the food processing and packaging machinery sector increased by 9 % in real terms compared to the same month last year. Domestic demand rose by 73%, while foreign orders remained stable. Orders from euro partner countries increased by 5%, while orders from non-euro countries fell by 3%. In the period from January to July 2024, incoming orders for the food processing and packaging machinery sector fell by 7%.

“Incoming orders in our heterogeneous industry are split in two this year. For packaging machines (excluding beverage filling machines), we can report a stable growth of 13% in real terms in the first seven months, while order intake in the food machinery sector in the period from January to July is 9% below the previous year's level,” says Beatrix Fraese, expert for markets and the economy and Deputy Managing Director of the VDMA Food Processing and Packaging Machinery Association. This development is the result of a subdued order intake for packaging machines in 2023. “The discussion surrounding the new EU packaging regulation led to uncertainty among customers last year. The regulation has now largely been finalised, which seems to be having a positive impact on investments,” explains Fraese. There is currently an opposing trend in incoming orders for food processing machinery.