After three very good years on the back of successive bountiful monsoons, the current fiscal is likely to see tractor sales post low single-digit growth at best.
“Sales during April-August have been flat, with growth at minus 0.3 per cent year-on-year. Although area sown this time is higher for all kharif crops, except pulses, we have also had the driest ever August. A lot depends on rains over the next 15 days,” said Hemant Sikka, president (farm equipment sector) of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd (M&M).
April-June and September-November are the peak periods for tractor sales. That’s when farmers would have harvested their rabi (winter-spring) and kharif (post-monsoon) crops respectively, while preparing to sow for the next season. If the kharif crop output and prices are good, they would be encouraged to invest in tractors for the coming rabi planting season.
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Those prospects don’t look great for now, with the country as a whole receiving 11.3 per cent below-normal rainfall during the current southwest monsoon season from June 1 till September 4. As things stand, the industry is set for “low single-digit sales growth” in 2023-24 (April-March), Sikka told The Indian Express at an event to unveil a new range of tractors under M&M’s ‘Swaraj’ brand.
Domestic tractor sales rose from 7.05 lakh units in 2019-20 to 8.99 lakh, 8.42 lakh and 9.45 lakh units in the following three fiscals. This was a period when India’s agriculture sector did well, growing even during Covid while the rest of the economy suffered lockdown disruptions.
The newly launched ‘Swaraj’ tractor models – 843 XM (42 horsepower), 742 XT (44 hp), 744 FE (45 hp), 744 XT (49 hp) and 855 FE (50 hp) – are priced between Rs 6.9 lakh and Rs 9.95 lakh.
“These tractors have engines with higher cubic capacity and torque. They also have enhanced hydraulic lift capacity and 6-speed power take-off to seamlessly handle heavy and modern farm implements. We are further providing the option of multi-speed 12+3 transmission independent PTO and 4-wheel-drive across the product range, along with a standard warranty of six years or 6,000 hours,” said Harish Chavan, CEO of M&M’s Swaraj Division.
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‘Mahindra’ and ‘Swaraj’ are independent tractor brands of M&M with separate sales teams and dealer networks. The Swaraj Division, formerly Punjab Tractors Ltd and established in 1974, was acquired by M&M in 2007. Swaraj has two plants at Mohali in Punjab and is in the process of commissioning a third one at Humayunpur in Dera Bassi.