Tractor industry expects 10% growth on good monsoon forecast

Optimism follows two years of drought and a sales dip of 10% in calendar 2015

The domestic tractor industry is bullish on the growth in the sector over the prospects of good monsoon season this year after two consecutive years of drought.

The tractor industry has projected a growth of nearly 10 per cent this year after the sales had slipped by 10 per cent during 2015 calendar.

The domestic tractor industry had clocked sales of under 5,00,000 units in 2015 due to drought and consequent fall in demand in the farm sector.

"Tractor is a sentiments based industry and with the forecast of good monsoon this year and the focus on the farm sector by the central government, we are confident that the sector would grow by 10 per cent in 2016," Mahindra Farm Division COO Harish Chavan told Business Standard here.

He was in town to launch the company's new tractor Yuvo in the Uttar Pradesh market. The new product falls under the 30-45 Horsepower (HP) category and joins the league of the company's existing range of 15-57 HP tractors.

It spans five models and would be available in 15 states with the prices starting from Rs 4.71 lakh ex-showroom Lucknow.

UP is the biggest tractor market in India and had clocked sales of about 95,000 units in 2014. However, last year the market slumped by 18 percent due to adverse agricultural sector performance following drought and weak rural demand.

Chavan said Yuvo has been built to perform 30 different farming applications and serve diverse needs of farmers, from land preparation to harvesting as well as post-harvesting requirements. In UP, the company has a network of nearly 170 dealers.

Over the years, the application of tractors for non-agricultural purposes, including haulage has been growing, keeping pace with growth in infrastructure and real estate sectors.