MAY'S TRACTOR SALES 75% UP ON PREVIOUS YEAR

According to figures released by the AEA, there were 1,103 registrations during May in the UK of agricultural tractors - which is a +74.8% change compared with May 2020.

Stephen Howarth, agricultural economist at the association, said with the market facing disruptions due to Covid-19 a year ago, it was "no surprise"  that the figures were higher than they had been 12 months previously.

Stephen said of the figure, "This was also 10% above the average for the time of year in the previous five years (2015-19)."

This brought the total for the year to date to 5,371 machines, 21% more than in the opening five months of 2020 and 7% up on the five-year average.