ISLAMABAD: Tractors assembling in the country during first half of current financial year witnessed about 39.39 percent growth as compared the production of corresponding period of last year.
During the period from July-December, 2020-21, about 23,237 tractors were locally assembled as compared the assembling of 16,671 tractors of the same period of last year, according the Provisional Quantum Index Numbers of Large Scale Manufacturing Industries released by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
The provisional quantum indices of Large Scale Manufacturing Industries (LSMI) for December 2020 with base year 2005-06 have been developed on the basis of latest data supplied by the source agencies.
On month on month basis, domestic tractors production was recorded at 4,196 tractors in December, 2020 as against assembling of 781 tractors in same month of last year, it added.
The uptick in tractor assembling was mainly attributed to tax incentive provided by the government under its agriculture fiscal package to avoid the negative impact of Covid-19 and promoting the mechanization of agriculture sector in the country.
The government under its package had approved Rs1.5 billion Sales Tax subsidy on locally manufactured tractors in order to promote mechanization in agriculture sector to enhance per-acre crop output in the country.
Under the package, Sales tax subsidy at rate of 5% to locally manufactured tractors for one year was also approved. At present 5% sales tax is applied on the sale of each tractor. There were two main manufacturing units in Pakistan including Massey Ferguson and Al-Ghazi having market share of 60% and 40%, respectively.
It is worth mentioning here that the overall output of LSMI increased by 8.16 percent for July-December 2020-21 as compared the corresponding period of last year.
On month on month basis, the LSMI output increased by 11.40 percent in December, 2020 compared to same month of last year and it grew by 13.51 percent when it compared with month of November 2020.
