US interim trade deal opens door for tractor exports: Escorts Kubota CFO

The India-US interim trade deal gives a good opportunity to explore exporting of tractors to America, according to a senior official of farm and construction equipment firm Escorts Kubota.

The company's Japanese parent Kubota Corporation has stated that it plans to turn India into its growth engine under its mid-term business plan for 2030, identifying business and projects from the country as one of the key aspects of the strategy.

"We are not exporting to the US right now. We think with this tariff thing coming in now, probably this will give us a good opportunity to look at opening up that market again," Escorts Kubota Ltd whole-time director and CFO Bharat Madan told PTI.

 

He was responding to a query on the impact of the India-US interim trade deal.

"Right now, our parent company (Kubota) is exporting from Japan, and (US tariff on) Japan is about 15 per cent. So, there is not really a significant gap there (with that of India at 18 per cent," he noted.

"That gives us a good opportunity if we can make tractors in India and look at exports as an option.. It will be a very good scenario for the parent company to consider."  Under its 2030 mid-term business plan, Kubota Corporation stated that while aiming to capture high-growth markets, it will leverage India as a global hub for R&D, procurement and production, and improve the cost competitiveness of the entire group and strengthen its supply chain.

On the impact of the India-EU FTA, Madan said the tariff on tractors is zero already, and the company does not expect any major impact on the tractor business side.

"We are already exporting to the EU...Already, exports to Europe from India are very high today," he noted.

When asked about the outlook for the domestic market, the tractor industry is expected to ride on the growth momentum after the GST rate reduction, which propelled it to a record level in the third quarter, growing at 23 per cent.

In the March quarter, the industry is expected to grow by around 30-35 per cent, and the momentum is likely to carry through July-August, after which the high base effect will kick in, Madan noted.

In the quarter ended December 2025, Escorts Kubota had clocked tractor volumes of 36,955 units, up 13.5 per cent from 32,556 units in the corresponding quarter of the last fiscal.