The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor has given a tremendous boost to the depressed tractor industry in Pakistan as farm tractor sales have spiked up to 38,620 in the first nine months of the current financial year as against 22,169 units during the same period of the previous year. Sources in tractor industry told Business Recorder here on Monday that a large number of farm tractors are being used in the under construction CPEC which is a collection of infrastructure projects throughout Pakistan.
It may be added that modern transportation networks built under CPEC will link seaports in Gwadar and Karachi with northern Pakistan, as well as points further north in western China and Central Asia. [8] A 1,100 kilometre long motorway will be built between the cities of Karachi and Lahore as part of CPEC,[9] while the Karakoram Highway between Rawalpindi and the Chinese border will be completely reconstructed and overhauled.
The sources said that Millat Tractor Ltd sold 24,590 Massey Ferguson tractors against last years’ sale of 13,524 pieces from July to March. The sales of Fiat tractor manufactured by Al-Ghazi Tractor Ltd increased from 7,947 to 13,926 pieces in the first nine month of the current financial year.
They said that reduction of GST from 16 percent to 5 percent also greatly helped the tractor industry to stand on its feet. However they demanded that mark up on the agriculture loans was very high which must be reduced so that more farmers could buy the locally manufactured high quality tractors for mechanized farming and other economic activities.
Courtesy Business Recorder