Following the delay in materialising tractor schemes announced by Sindh and Punjab governments, the industry faced a sharp decline of 8 percent during first quarter of current fiscal year; market sources said. They said that a slowdown in the sales of tractors had clearly showed that delay in tractor schemes announced by Punjab and Sindh governments was creating issues for the already depressed industry.
They said that total production of tractors from July to September stood at 7,316 units and the total sales stood at 6,745 units, depicting 8 percent negative growth during first quarter. Moreover, sources said that tractor sales, which recovered slightly last year in July, had again declined to 1,634 unit in July 2015, showing 41 percent fall, which was mainly attributed to the delay in the implementation of said schemes.
They said that schemes announced by the Punjab and Sindh governments in the current budget were still dormant and termed government interest for importing tractors from Belarus as perilous for local tractor manufacturers. Meanwhile, Director International Engineers Pakistan, Muhammad Jameel said that government intention to import tractors from Belarus would badly hurt local industry and added that prospects of around 400 vendors, who spent 40 years to bring 95 percent localisation, were now hanging in the balance after the said move. Jameel also alleged that policies of incumbent government were hampering the growth of tractor industry, which would lead to creating a negative impact on agriculture sector.