KARACHI: The Engineering Development Board (EDB) has strongly opposed Punjab Agriculture Department’s proposal seeking imports of used tractors (up to five years-old), stressing the move would adversely affect the national exchequer and local industry.

EDB, which is a strong arm of Ministry of Industries and Production (MoIP), has warned that import of used tractors (up to five years-old) along with duties and taxes exemption would negatively impact the national exchequer, the tractor industry and vendors besides rendering 60,000 skilled employees jobless.

The end users would not benefit from used tractors since spare parts and services would not be available easily, the board informed the MoIP. Also it would require import of parts for the used farm machinery, consuming further foreign exchange, it added.

The EDB recommended that the MoIP may support the proposal of stakeholders for not allowing imports of used tractors.

The agriculture department of Punjab government on November 14 had requested the MoIP for allowing import of used tractors (up to five years old) along with exemption from import duties and taxes.

The department said that during the third provincial Cabinet meeting held on Sept 23, co-chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan and Chief Minister Punjab Usman Buzdar, it was decided that imports of used tractors maybe allowed. In order to harness the export potential in agriculture, Pakistan needs to transform subsistence agriculture to a commercially oriented, internationally competitive and highly mechanised agriculture, the agriculture department said.

Mechanisation is primarily dependent upon the variety of power sources and advance hi-tech farm machinery and equipment including tractors, the department added. “The idea behind this move is to break down the existing monopoly of black market of tractors,” the provincial agriculture department maintained.

Meanwhile, an official of Millat Tractors Limited (MTL) said locally made tractors are cheaper than imported tractors.

“Being exporters of tractors to Africa and South America for over a year we know prevailing prices of used and new tractors in the world. Pakistani tractors are cheaper in prices than India while the company is also competing with China in world markets,” he said.

He said MTL had been facing slow down in booking from the customers for the last three months and production was being done on back orders.

As a result of slow demand, the company has shut down its manufacturing plant from Dec 10-31, while the restart date has been extended to Jan 14, 2019.

“We have not cut any jobs but have sent all employees on leave from December 10 to January 14,” the official said.

“Because of plant closure and thin booking, the company has stopped procuring parts from its vendors for the last three weeks,” he added.

Published in Dawn, December 29th, 2018