One more tractor was sold in November 2016 than the same month last year‚ but on a year-to-date basis sales are down 13%. South African Agricultural Machinery Association (Saama) data show that in November 453 tractors were sold, after 452 in November 2015 — but the total for the year so far is 5,506 compared with 6,329 last year. Saama said that year-to-date combine harvester sales were down 15% from 209 in 2015 to 178 in 2016. Saama chairman Lucas Groenewald said that "after the worst drought in years‚ bankers are cautious about financing the purchase of agricultural equipment and farmers too are reluctant to go into debt until there is more certainty with their crops". "Nevertheless‚ the underlying sentiment in the market is positive‚ if cautious‚" he added. Staying positive‚ Groenewald noted that "good rains have fallen in many of the eastern parts of the country and some of the dams have started filling". "This augurs well for the dryland farmers as well as for those using irri...
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