Tractor sales are up on last year, with some 1,466 new tractors being licensed in Ireland in the first seven months of the year, figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show.

This represented an increase of 108 tractors (8%) compared to the same period in 2015, when just 1,358 new tractors were licensed.

However, despite the rise in new tractors licensed this year, figures are still below the levels seen in 2014. The number of new tractors licensed from January to July in 2014 reached 1,551 – 85 more tractors than this year, according to CSO figures.

Meanwhile, the number of used (imported) tractors licensed to July this year also increased, with 96 more tractors registered between January and July this year compared to the same period last year.

The number of used tractors licensed for the first seven months of the year show that registrations have fallen by 461 from 2014 to 2016, according to CSO figures.

In 2014 the number of used tractors licensed between January and July was 1,567, with that falling to 1,010 in 2015 and then rising to 1,106 this year.

 

There was 206 used tractors licensed in July 2014, falling to 130 in the same month of 2015, while the number of used tractors licensed reached 165 in July of this year.

In 2015, a total of 1,986 new tractors were licensed, a decrease on the 2,186 new tractors licensed in the previous year, according to the CSO.

The number of new tractors licensed for 2016 could reach 2014 levels if the increases shown between January and July are mirrored in the last seven months of the year.

The total number of imported tractors licensed fell to 1,787 in 2015 compared with the 2,357 imported tractors that were licensed in 2014.