Escorts Agri Machinery, an acclaimed farm equipment manufacturer, reported a 3.3 per cent drop in domestic tractor sales in October, with 12,749 units sold. In October 2020, the firm had sold 13,180 units.
Escorts stated in a regulatory statement that total tractor sales last month were 13,514 units, down 1.1 per cent from October 2020s 13,664 units.
This sudden drop in sales of units is similar to the drop in Mahindra & Mahindra’s sales report released at the start of October 2021. The festival periods of Navratri and Dussehra saw high footfalls, according to Escorts Agri Machinery, and the current Rabi crop's delayed sowing and harvesting cycle augur’s well for festive retail in November as well. "This coupled with overall positive rural sentiments on account of good rainfall, expected good yield and crop production, higher crop MSPs and better retail finance availability, the company said.
The sudden drop in the sales of tractors can be attributed to various factors such as inflation rise in crude oil prices etc.
However, the coming sowing season of the Rabi season might bring a boom in sales for the company soon after. Though this is opposed by the rising inflation which according to a report published by Oxford University Press projects that a 1 per cent rise in the price of new farm tractors raises the price of used farm tractors by 1.44 per cent.
The Export sales in October 2021 stood at 764 tractors against 484 tractors sold in October 2020, registering a growth of 58.1%. This also shows how the abating pandemic is playing a role in the rise of sales of tractors in India too.
The stabilization brought by the Government in the crude oil sector via the usage of subsidies will also play a crucial role in the increasing sales of the tractors in November.
