Tractor sales in South Africa are on track to reach more than 8 500 units in 2022, amid optimism about weather prospects and higher commodity prices, according to the South African Agricultural Machinery Association (SAAMA).
"This is a cause for celebration [and something] the agriculture sector should be boasting about," Lukas Groenewald, John Deere's sales manager for Southern Africa, told Farmer's Weekly.
SAAMA figures also showed that combine harvester sales had risen to 273 units in the 11 months ended August 2022 from 178 units in the comparable period a year earlier, with 350 units now forecast for the 2022 calendar year.
Groenewald said he believed sales had been driven by farmers' positive outlook, despite current high input costs.
"The majority of the country's farmers have remained positive, because our climatic conditions remain positive,…
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Farmer's Weekly (Digital) - 1 Issue, 21 October 2022