Tractor sales buoyant despite fall in farm machinery market
An analysis which it conducted showed that the overall value of the market declined about 6% in actual terms, relative to the value in 2002.
FTMTA chief executive Michael Moroney said the latest registration figures from the Central Statistics Office confirm sales of new tractors remained close to the 2002 level until November when they took a slight dip.
There was an early year flush of registrations due to the IFA tractorcade in January 2003 and May was the peak month. Mr Moroney said in the last year Ireland continued to be an important buyer of used tractors, mainly from Britain.
By month, more used tractors were registered in Ireland than for each equivalent month in 2002. Used tractor buyers and importers are now looking at other Euro market areas for secondhand value.
But the bigger market changes took place among the other main farm machinery lines.
The sales of combine and silage harvesters dropped slightly, due in large measure to the difficult working conditions of the previous year.
Irish operators are now leading the movement towards maximum output, with the use of the latest efficient and high-output harvesting systems.
There was a noticeable trend towards the use of combination baler and wrapper machines among contractors and farmers making round bale silage.
âThis too signifies progress towards greater field efficiency in the effort to make farming more cost competitive,â he said.
Sales of tillage machines in 2003 were slower than 2002 as the impact of the Fischler proposals became more apparent.
Ambitious tillage farmers were setting their sights on new investments for greater scale. This trend is likely to continue in the tillage sector in 2004.
Dairy farmers are also looking to expand, judging by the interest in milking machines and livestock feeding equipment, Mr Moroney said.
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