Sonalika clinches top spot as tractor exporter in India in July

Sonalika clinches top spot as tractor exporter in India in July

The company, which is targeting a big push in China and US markets, wants to ship more than 13,000 units this financial year and retain its top slot as tractor exporter.

CHENNAI: India's tractor tribe has a new top exporter - Sonalika ITL. In July, Sonalika became the top Indian tractor exporter with over 1,500 units shipped, ahead of earlier topper Tafe and domestic market leader Mahindra. Sonalika, which shipped 4,075 units in the April-July period, clocked 24% growth and managed the third slot in cumulative rankings. The company, which is targeting a big push in China and US markets, wants to ship more than 13,000 units this financial year and retain its top slot as tractor exporter.

India's tractor exports - 77,485 units in FY15-16 - has been flat month-on-month and turned negative year-on-year in the first four months of the new financial year. Monthly exports hit a five-year high of 7686 units in December 2015 only to slide sharply thereafter. "Sonalika was No 4 exporter for the whole year in FY15-16," said Gaurav Saxena, president-international business, Sonalika ITL. "In the first four months of the new fiscal our cumulative exports of 4075 units have put us at the No 3 slot. Our strategy is to retain our July rank of top exporter all through the year."

According to Tractor Manufacturers Association data in July, Sonalika ITL led exports with 1,534 units, Tafe exported 1,256 units, John Deere 1,173 units, Mahindra 1,100 tractors, New Holland 720 tractors and Escorts 82 units. "30% of our volumes come from Africa, 25% from Asia and the balance 45% from Europe and Latin America," he added. The company currently has assembly plants in Brazil, Argentina, Algeria, Iran and Cameroon and a centralised spare parts centre in the Czech Republic.

Tractor exports have been hit by the oil crisis in several Latin American and African countries.

"Many countries affected by oil crises are focusing on agriculture and food security. So agri market should grow though there are challenges including political instability and currency volatility. We have seen African countries like Cameroon, Sudan, Nigeria and Algeriataking steps to improve agriculture and these are also good export markets for made-in-India tractors," he added.

Source:- indiatimes.com