Turkey’s Tractor Production Increased by 123.6 Percent to 40,250 Units in 2010

Turkey’s tractor production increased by 123.6 percent in 2010, reaching 40,250 units and rebounding from hitting rock bottom in 2009. According to data recently released by the Turkish Association of Agricultural Machinery and Equipment Manufacturers’ (TARMAKBİR), Turkey’s tractor production was 42,500 units in 2005 and rose slightly to 44,700 in 2006. It started dropping in 2007, 2008 and 2009 to 38,000, 29,000 and 18,000, respectively.

When the effects of the global crisis started to wear off in 2010, tractor production rose significantly by 123.6 percent, reaching 40,250 units. Also in January of this year, Turkish tractor production was up by more than 83 percent compared to the same month of 2010, numbering 3,900. Considering the fact that this year is an election year and that rural regions will get more financial aid from the government to support regional development, experts expect that this year’s tractor production will continue increasing.

Parallel to production, tractor sales also rose in 2010. The Turkish Statistics Institute (TurkStat) data suggest that tractors registered for the first time totaled 13,758 units in 2009, while this number had increased to 29,871 by November 2010. The sale of secondhand tractors came in at 31,803 in 2010 in November.

Moreover, the TurkStat data showed that 20 percent of the newly registered tractors in the January–November period of 2010 were foreign brands. In addition to the 24,000 tractors produced in Turkey, the sector imported about 6,000 foreign tractors in the first 11 months of last year. Foreign tractors accounted for 25.5 percent of the total market in 2009. The total number of registered tractors in Turkey is currently around 1.39 million and 1.1 million of these tractors are used in the agriculture sector. When looking to Turkish tractor exports, the national statistics institute shows that they rose by 6.04 percent in 2010 when compared to 2009, reaching 9,709 units.

The revenue generated from the export of tractors increased from $177.2 million in 2009 to $191.13 million in 2010. Most of these tractors were exported to the US, followed by Morocco, Iraq, Australia, Mexico and Malaysia.

The implementation of a requirement to use Euro 3-type engines in tractors has been postponed for six months, sector representatives have said. In line with the adoption of EU standards, Turkish tractors have had to change their old Euro 2-type engines, which had a high exhaust emission, to the new and environment friendly Euro 3-type engines as of Jan. 1, 2011. But since Turkish tractor producers have had difficulties in producing these new engines, the Industry and Trade Ministry has postponed the requirement of using Euro 3 engines for tractors until June. In this way, the producers will also have the opportunity to reduce their Euro 2 engine stocks.

18 February 2011
SOURCE: TODAY’S ZAMAN