Growth Continues in Irish Farm Machinery Trade.

The Irish farm machinery market is expected to grow by 8% in value terms to over €490 million during 2007 compared with 2006, according to the Farm Tractor and Machinery Trade Association (FTMTA) in its analysis of the market for the year, released at the National Ploughing Championships this week. The growth in new tractor sales, which has shown registrations grow to more than 4,500 units for the first eight months of the year, has been a major contributor to the growth in turnover within the sector, according to FTMTA president Richard Harris. “Sales of new tractors are running 18% ahead of last year,” he said, “and this could bring the market to exceed 5,000 units by the year end. This would the highest level of new tractor sales for 30 years,” said the FTMTA president. The FTMTA analysis of the total machinery market shows a significant growth in sales of combine harvesters for 2007. The FTMTA figures show that close to 40 new combine harvesters were sold in 2007, more than 50% increase on 2006 levels. This year’s National Ploughing Championships brought further interest in slurry equipment, spurred on by the recently announced revised Farm Waste Management Scheme. “This revised scheme has encouraged more farmers to look at upgrading their slurry machinery in order to maximize the nutrient utilization from within the slurry and eliminate the environmental impact associated with slurry use,” he said. There was also increased interest in animal feeding systems and tillage machinery systems on the back of improved incomes within dairying and cereal growing. FTMTA expects that the market for new tractors will continue to be strong into 2008, with increased sales of farm machinery, especially tillage machinery, over the 2007 levels.