Agricultural Machinery Sales made a recovery in April 2026 after recording their first decline in over a year in March 2026.
Image: Simphiwe Mbokazi/Independent Newspapers
South Africa’s agricultural machinery market staged a modest recovery in April after recording its first decline in more than a year during March, although concerns remain over rising input costs and softer commodity prices.
According to the South African Agricultural Machinery Association, tractor sales rose by 4% year-on-year in April, with 548 units sold compared to 527 units during the same month in 2025. Combine harvester sales also improved, increasing to 52 units from 46 units a year earlier.
Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz) chairman, Willie Human, welcomed the rebound, saying the sector continued to benefit from strong harvests achieved during the 2024-25 production season.
Willie Human said machinery sales remained ahead of last year’s levels despite growing uncertainty in the market.
“Fifty-two combine harvesters were sold in April, six more than the 46 units sold in April last year. On a year-to-date basis, combine harvester sales are now approximately 9% up on last year,” he said.
Human added that market sentiment has recently changed to one of uncertainty and caution.
“Diesel and fertiliser prices, amongst others, have escalated sharply. Summer crop prospects still look promising, although some harvesting is being hampered by the late rains. Commodity prices are well down on last year. As harvesting progresses, farmers will get a better estimate of their production.”
Human said they will be looking closely at input costs for the forthcoming summer crop season and may hesitate to invest in capital equipment.
“Industry predictions of tractor sales for the 2026 calendar year are that these will be similar, or marginally lower, than those in 2025.”
Wandile Sihlobo, chief economist at Agbiz, said that agricultural machinery sales remain robust, supported by orders some farmers likely placed before the current global challenges.
“The farmers’ finances over the past few months were boosted by the ample harvest in the 2024-25 season, on the back of beneficial La Niña rains,” Sihlobo said.
“Therefore, in our interpretation of these recent sales, we ought to be careful not to view the data as an indication that the agricultural sector is unaffected by rising input costs, lower agricultural commodity prices, and lingering uncertainty about the weather outlook heading into the 2026-27 season.”
Sihlobo said that the 2025-26 production season is reasonably better in terms of output for various summer grains, oilseeds, sugarcane, fruits, nuts, wine, and vegetables.
“The summer grains and oilseeds harvest is at record levels. But the downside of this is lower commodity prices, with maize currently down 20 to 30% and soybean prices down by 10 to 15% from a year ago. This context is valuable as we consider the long-term perspective of agricultural machinery sales,” Sihlobo said.
“The combined harvest sales amounted to 52 units, up by 13% from April 2025. This uptick in sales comes after a slight slump in March 2026 sales, a change from a 14-month period of strong tractor sales on the back of better harvests in the past few seasons.”
Sihlobo said this yearly improvement in the overall harvest is underpinned by upward revisions to major grains and oilseeds, particularly maize, soybeans, and sunflower seed.
“The harvest is ample. For example, the data released by the Crop Estimates Committee at the end of April 2026 placed South Africa’s 2025-26 summer grain and oilseed harvest at 20.8 million tons, up 1% year-on-year,” he said.
“Ultimately, while near-term machinery sales may remain encouraging, linked to orders placed before the current disruptions, we worry about the path ahead for tractor and combine harvester sales. This year may mark a shift from the period of strong agricultural machinery sales we observed at the beginning of 2025.”
BUSINESS REPORT