WHILE the rest of the country is experiencing a blow out month in tractor sales, industry figures show Western Australia is not reaping the benefits of the Federal government's tax stimulus.
Tractor and Machinery Association (TMA) executive director Gary Northover said while nationally tractor sales in April were up a whopping 40 per cent on last year, WA bucked the trend, down 10pc compared to April last year, with total year-to-date sales behind by 15pc.
WA's decline comes off the back of two years of strong sales growth, particularly in higher horsepower ranges, leading some to wonder if the market has reached a temporary saturation point.
Strong east coast figures are also to be taken with a grain of salt, as Mr Northover warned industry the strong result did not necessarily herald a full recovery.
"There can be no denying that the government's instant asset write-off program has stimulated a lot of sales however, this program is due to be scaled back on July 1 to the previous $30,000 limit," Mr Northover said.
"The TMA has been working with the Motor Traders' Association of Australia to lobby Canberra to have this program extended to at least September 2020 as we believe it is instrumental in supporting the general economic recovery.
"Secondly, we are beginning to see signs of supply shortages in the market.
"With US and European factory closures occurring as part of the wider COVID-19 lock-downs, supply of machinery to the Australian market is becoming unpredictable, a situation that is expected to get worse before it gets better."
Looking forward to harvest, Mr Northover said header sales remained slow nationally and he did not see any great prospects for 2020 despite an improved cropping season.
Baler sales remained strong, up 3pc year to date, while out-front mowers moved 21pc ahead of the same time last year.