Tractor sales surge 12% as agricultural machinery market maintains strong momentum

Sales of agricultural machinery in South Africa continued their upward trajectory in October, driven by robust tractor sales and renewed confidence in the sector, according to data released on Friday by the South African Agricultural Machinery Association (SAAMA).

The figures show that tractor sales rose 12% year-on-year, with 857 units sold in October, compared to 765 units sold in the same month last year. However, combine harvester sales dropped to 17 units, down from 28 units sold in October 2024.

Despite the monthly decline, year-to-date combine harvester sales remain 8% higher than last year’s levels, suggesting sustained demand across the broader machinery market.

Willie Human, chairman of the SAAMA, said the sector remains in a healthy position following a period of heightened competition and fluctuating inventory levels.

“We have come through a period of strong competition in the market, where stock levels of some categories of machinery were high. The market is now returning to some sort of ‘normality’, although that is quite difficult to define in the agricultural machinery industry,” Human said.

“Winter crop predictions look good, and forecasts for the upcoming summer cropping season are encouraging.”

Human said that weatherwise, a weak La Niña looks set to prevail for the rest of the year, an encouraging sign for summer crops.

“Overall, current predictions are that tractor and combine harvester sales will be of the order of 10% more than last year.”

Wandile Sihlobo, chief economist at the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz), said the steady growth in machinery sales reflects the broader strength of South Africa’s farming economy, particularly after a productive 2024–25 season.

“Moreover, the strong tractor sales signal farmers' optimism about the 2025-26 agricultural season, which has recently started. This is likely to be another favourable season as there are prospects of La Niña rains, which should support production conditions across various subsectors of agriculture,” he said.

Sihlobo said when the agricultural sector is experiencing favourable production conditions, the interlinked industries tend to benefit.

“We are seeing such benefits in the agricultural machinery industry, which has seen robust sales for much of this year,” Sihlobo said.

“More specifically, tractor sales have increased for the past ten months, while combine harvester sales have cooled in the last five months, having started on a solid momentum. This is evident in the October 2025 sales data.”

Sihlobo noted that while combine harvester sales have softened in recent months, this comes after a strong start to the year.

“Meanwhile, the combine harvester sales were down 39%, with 17 units sold. The soft sales in combine harvester sales are not a significant concern, given the higher volume of sales in the past few months,” he said.

“Importantly, the cumulative sales of combine harvesters for the first nine months of 2025 are up 4% compared to the corresponding period in 2024, with 197 units sold.”

Farmers are expected to plant 4.1 million hectares of summer grains and oilseeds in the 2025–26 season — a 1% increase from last year.

Sihlobo added that easing interest rates and ongoing machinery replacement cycles are also expected to sustain strong sales in the months ahead.

“Interest rates have eased somewhat from last year's levels, which will support sales. Also worth noting is that some farmers may continue with machinery replacement in the coming months, which will ultimately support sales.”

BUSINESS REPORT