AGCO Foresees Increased Africa Sales

AGCO announced plans to increase sales in Africa by almost a third next year as entrepreneurs from the continent and elsewhere invest in agriculture, reported Bloomberg’s Businessweek.

The company’s sales in Africa are forecast to rise to about 8,500 units in 2015, from about 6,500 this year, said Nuradin Osman, AGCO’s director of operations for Africa and the Middle East. Sales in Africa were about 1,400 three years ago, he said.

Massey Ferguson machines have been sold in Africa for five decades, preceding AGCO’s creation. The company has a manufacturing site in Algeria and two years ago opened a center in Zambia that offers training on equipment and farming practices. AGCO sees strong demand in several African countries, including South Africa, Morocco and Tanzania.

While Africa needs to feed its own booming population, it will increasingly be called on to supply foreign markets as well, the company’s CEO said, also noting that 80% of Africa’s arable land is uncultivated. S