May tractor sales jump 16.8% to 493 units: Saama

Mathias_Beckmann via pixabay

The May jump showed that farmers remain optimistic about future prospects despite the fact that the South African economy entered a recession in the first quarter of 2017.

The crop estimates committee in its fourth estimate in late May said the 2017 maize crop would rise by 101% compared with 2016 to a record 15.631 million tonnes.

"Although these excellent crop prospects have had an adverse effect on crop prices, the overall sentiment in the industry is positive," Saama said.

Industry expectations for 2017 are that overall tractor sales should be at least as good as those in 2016. In the first five months of 2017, tractor sales were down 0.3% year on year.

In 2016 sales fell 11.3% to 5,855 units.

Source: BDpro