Recently, at the freight station at the Alashankou Port in Xinjiang, a batch of domestically produced tractors with Russian operation signs are being lifted onto cross-border trains and are about to be sent to Nursultan, Kazakhstan. This batch of tractors consists of 120 units and is the 15th batch of agricultural machinery and equipment exported from China to Kazakhstan this year. It is specifically designed for the agricultural characteristics of drought, low rainfall, and contiguous farmland in Central Asia. From order confirmation to production delivery, it only took 28 days, which is nearly half the time compared to previous years.
Kazakhstan is an important agricultural country in Central Asia, with a wheat and cotton planting area of 20 million hectares. However, the local agricultural mechanization rate is only 40%, and there is a strong demand for small and medium-sized tractors. Previously, the European and American tractors we imported were not only expensive, but the after-sales service couldn't keep up. If the parts were broken, it would take three months to arrive. Chinese made tractors were not only 30% cheaper, but could also be customized according to our needs, "said Kulman, the head of Kazakhstan Agricultural Cooperative, in a video link. The tractor exported this time is equipped with a 60 horsepower turbocharged engine, with a maximum power of 45 kilowatts. It can operate continuously for 15 hours with a single full 60 liter fuel tank, meeting the operational needs of large-scale farmland; In response to the high temperature of 40 ℃ in Central Asia during summer, the company optimized the engine cooling system by increasing the area of heat sinks and implementing forced air cooling devices to ensure stable operation of the equipment even under extreme high temperatures; The chassis adopts an anti dust sealing design to reduce the wear of the transmission system caused by dust and prolong the service life of the equipment.
To enhance their localization service capabilities, export companies established two after-sales service centers in Nur Sultan and Almaty, Kazakhstan last year, equipped with 15 Russian language technicians and over 5000 commonly used parts. After farmers call the service hotline, technicians can come to their homes for repairs within 24 hours. In the first half of this year, the company also collaborated with local agricultural departments to conduct three tractor operation training sessions, training more than 200 farmers in total. According to customs data, from January to October this year, China exported 1600 tractors to Kazakhstan, a year-on-year increase of 65%. Among them, 60-80 horsepower models accounted for more than 70%, mainly used for tillage and sowing operations in wheat producing areas. At present, the market share of domestic tractors in Kazakhstan has increased from 12% in 2022 to 18%, and it is expected that the annual export volume will exceed 2000 units. The next step is to expand the market in Central Asian countries such as Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, and promote the large-scale application of domestic agricultural machinery in Central Asia.
