Non-farm usage of tractors growing fast

Pegged at almost 40%

The usage of tractors for non-agricultural purposes has been growing over the years and is currently at almost 40%.

Apart from farm-related tasks, tractors are increasingly being deployed in sand mines, brick kilns, road making, ferrying passengers.

“Although, tractors had always been used in non-farm purposes, earlier it was more personal in nature. However, now the usage is more commercial in nature and growing fast,” Escorts Agri Machinery head marketing Shenu Agarwal told Business Standard.

He said the trend started almost 10 years back and has touched almost 40%.

“The tractor manufacturers are well aware of this phenomenon and the modern tractors are increasingly being improvised to serve this aspect as well,” he underlined.

 

Agarwal said now the tractors are being used for almost 6-8 months a year compared to 2-3 months earlier.

“This has necessitated the development of more fuel efficient and powerful tractors, which is the cornerstone of Escorts,” he noted.

The domestic tractor market size is over half-million tractor units per annum, which has been growing at a compounded rate of over 10% in the last 5 years.

“However, the growth has been rather flat this year, but with the recovery of monsoon and improving economic sentiments, the growth is expected to bounce back,” Escorts head sales Sameer Tandon said.

He said the proposed FDI in retail is likely to increase farm income and consequently have a positive impact on farm equipment market.

Meanwhile, Escort launched ‘DIESEL-SAVER PLUS’ tractor series in the Uttar Pradesh market, which it claims offers more mileage and horsepower. The series caters to the emerging ‘commerce-minded’ segment of Indian farmers, who use tractors not just for farming, but as a source of generating additional income.