Affluent farmers drive sale of high-end tractors in Punjab

Vijay C Roy

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 15

Opulence and style drive most of the Punjab farmers to own high-powered tractors while the decision of cultivators in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are largely driven by value for money.

Out of the total 20,947 tractors sold in Punjab last financial year, 42% were high-powered [above 50 horsepower (HP) category], much higher than the national average of 8%.

This percentage has been significantly lower for Haryana and UP as compared to Punjab. While 20% of the total tractors sold in Haryana were of above 50 HP category, in Uttar Pradesh only 8% belonged to that category.

The automobile industry says besides some technical advantages, the ownership of tractors is also related to status symbol in the state. The price of a low-powered tractor starts from Rs 2.5 lakh per unit. The high-end variants come within the price range of Rs 6.5-Rs 15 lakh per vehicle depending on accessories, automobile dealers said.

Some experts attribute this phenomenon to over exploitation of groundwater. “The water level has gone down. So, often high-powered tractors are used as a prime mover with alternator for irrigation because of their efficiency. Secondly, it is more efficient when used with balers, combine harvesters, laser leveller and straw reaper,” a Punjab-based technical expert working with a leading tractor brand said.

According to the Tractor Manufacturers Association (TMA), the maximum number of high-powered tractors are sold in Punjab, UP and Haryana.

Progressive farmers with large land holdings prefer high-powered tractors. According to Manjeet Singh, Senior Research Engineer-cum-Head (farm machinery), Punjab Agricultural University (Ludhiana), “custom hiring” also propelled the demand for the high-powered machines. “Increasing, cooperative system is also another reason,” he said.

According to dealers, there is a sharp 25% increase in sales of total number of tractors in Punjab across all categories in 2017-18 as compared to 16,760 tractors sold in 2016-17. However, UP leads in sales of tractors in the entire country because of vast arable land and delayed mechanisation of cultivation. Punjab has more than 5.20 lakh tractors across all categories. Seeing the growth potential, many Indian tractor manufacturers have forayed into high-powered segment. Escorts, Mahindra & Mahindra, Sonalika, Tafe, John Deere and New Holland are manufacturers of high-powered tractors.

More than 7.2 lakh tractors were sold in the domestic market in 2017-18. The industry has two main segments — below 50 HP and over 50 HP categories. The lower category, however, dominates the market with sales of 6.7 lakh units in the last financial year. More than 54,300 high-powered tractors were sold in the same period.