Leading tractor manufacturer Escorts Ltd on Monday announced the launch of India’s first row-crop specialty tractor, called “Steeltrac”, for multipurpose usage by farmers sowing cash crops like cotton and groundnut where normal-size tractor are not found suitable.

The new product, manufactured by Rajkot-based Adico Group, with which Escorts has entered into a strategic alliance for this sub-20 HM tractor, is priced at Rs 2.45 lakh against the cheapest conventional tractor priced at Rs 3.80 lakh, said Sameer Tandon, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer, Escorts Agri Machinery, here.

Steeltrac has been designed to save 5-15 per cent fuel and has the lowest width of 32 inches. At 890 kg, it is heavier by 150 kg in its category and would not skid in wet soil, he said.

Gautam Patel, Director, Adico Group, said the Rajkot facility has a capacity to produce 6,000 tractors annually, expandable up to 20,000 tractors.

The Faridabad-based Escorts factory, having a capacity to manufacture one lakh tractors annually, sold 66,000 in 2012-13, Tandon said.

The special tractor market size in India is about 16,000, including market leader Mahindra Yuvraj at 10,000 pieces sold last year.

With increasing unavailability of farm labourers and growing mechanization of agriculture, India’s manufacturers sold 5.85 lakh tractors in 2012-13, compared to 5.25 lakh a year before, with a 14 per cent growth. In the next three years, this number is projected to grow to 7.5 lakh and in another four years to 10 lakh per annum. In the last 20 years, this segment has grown four times and is one of the fastest growing ones in India.

Tandon said increased mechanization of agriculture could increase the yield in India, which is about half or even one-fourth of the yield in some other countries. India’s per acre power usage is only 1.5 HP as against 7.5 HP in the West, which is expected to increase with mechanization.

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