Locally manufactured tractors are 54 percent cheaper than imported tractors, said Abdul Waheed Khan, Director General Pakistan Automotive Manufacturer’s Association (PAMA). “One locally produced tractor is around 54 percent cheaper as it is available at $7,000 and the tractor with same quality is available at $13,000 in international market,” he added.
He said that total tractor sales in first quarter stood at 6745 units, dipped by 28 percent as compared to 9363 units sold during last corresponding period. The government’s unfriendly attitude for local tractor industry has caused negative growth during first quarter. “The main reason of the current sharp decline in tractor sales is that the provincial governments of Sindh and Punjab did not initiate their tractor schemes, which were announced in July. It is quite unfortunate that this industry, which has achieved more than 90 percent localisation, is getting severely hurt by the policies of the government,” he said.
There are more than six assemblers in the industry including two major players, who are producing standard tractors with cheapest prices in the world, and no regional country including China and India can compete with them. He said that first the government imposed heavy GST which knocked down this industry, and now government is keen to allow import of used tractors in the country and added that government could have adopted a rational approach to help this export potential industry.
