New Delhi, February 15 The India-US interim trade deal presents a good opportunity to explore exporting tractors to America, according to a senior official at Escorts Kubota, a farm and construction equipment firm.
The company's Japanese parent, Kubota Corporation, has stated that it plans to make India its growth engine under its mid-term business plan for 2030, identifying business and projects from the country as one of the key aspects of the strategy.
"We are not currently exporting to the US. We believe that with this tariff coming in, it will likely give us a good opportunity to explore opening up that market again," Bharat Madan, a whole-time director and CFO of Escorts Kubota Ltd, told PTI.
He was responding to a query about the impact of the India-US interim trade deal.
"Currently, our parent company (Kubota) is exporting from Japan, and the tariff on Japan is about 15 per cent. So, there is not really a significant gap there (compared to India at 18 per cent)," he noted.
"This gives us a good opportunity if we can manufacture tractors in India and explore exports as an option. It would be a very favorable scenario for the parent company to consider."
Under its 2030 mid-term business plan, Kubota Corporation stated that while aiming to capture high-growth markets, it will leverage India as a global hub for R&D, procurement, and production, and improve the cost competitiveness of the entire group and strengthen its supply chain.
On the impact of the India-EU FTA, Madan said that the tariff on tractors is already zero, and the company does not expect any major impact on the tractor business.
"We are already exporting to the EU...Exports from India to Europe are very high today," he noted.
When asked about the outlook for the domestic market, the tractor industry is expected to benefit from the growth momentum after the GST rate reduction, which propelled it to a record level in the third quarter, growing at 23 per cent.
In the March quarter, the industry is expected to grow by around 30-35 per cent, and the momentum is likely to continue through July-August, after which the high base effect will kick in, Madan noted.
In the quarter ended December 2025, Escorts Kubota had sold 36,955 units of tractors, up 13.5 per cent from 32,556 units in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.
