Sales of tractors down by a third on uncertainty after devastating drought
TRACTOR sales fell 32.2% year on year in July to 451 units after dropping 12.2% in 2015 to 5,673 units, according to the South African Agricultural Machinery Association.Tractor sales have been hurt this year due to uncertainty about crop yields and exchange rates, whether the weather had transitioned from a dry El Nino global cycle to a wet La Nina cycle, land restitution issues and farmworker shares in farms."Market sentiment still remains positive. However, with the maize harvesting having been delayed in some areas, farmers are still waiting to see what their crops will yield. The late rains, particularly in the east of the summer rainfall areas, will have helped a lot with winter wheat and the upcoming summer crops," the industry body."Nevertheless, it is likely that the market will continue to be depressed for the next month or two. Thereafter, the market will be driven mainly by weather conditions as they develop in the summer cropping areas."Sales are down 14.3% year on year...
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