Deep in the English countryside about 18km north of Cambridge, hundreds of used tractors are waiting to be snatched up by one of many overseas buyers getting a better bargain because of Brexit.
Lured by a weaker pound and good quality of machinery, dealers from the European Union and as far away as Lebanon and Sri Lanka flock to the monthly Cheffins auction held on an area the size of 40 football pitches. Sales - the bulk of which are exported - have jumped since the UK voted to leave the EU, reaching a three-year high in the first 10 months of 2017.
“Since the Brexit day and the reduction on the value of the pound, it’s a great buying opportunity for all Europeans to come and buy here,” says Bill Pepper, a director at Cheffins. “We are the only auction to have such a variety of machines, so it’s almost like a one-stop shop.”
Sterling is the worst-performing major currency since the June 2016 vote, giving foreign buyers more value for money. From Deere tractors preferred by Spaniards to Massey Fergusons favoured in Asia and Africa, Cheffins’s sales jumped 15 per cent this year to October, following even bigger gains in the months after the referendum. Some demand is also from UK farmers wary of buying new machines ahead of the exit from the bloc.
For non-Brits, the pound’s slide has been good news. At the auction, the second-hand goods buyer Hassan Alaywi was looking for an old tractor to fill up the last space in his container bound for Lebanon. He said the lower prices meant he could make any necessary repairs and still make a 20 per cent export profit.
Harsha Dharmawardene, a Sri Lankan dealer who has bought more than 1,000 used tractors in the past 35 years, was also browsing the field of some 300 machines in Sutton. While he was not planning a purchase in September - a month the pound rallied - he says he took advantage of lower prices right after the Brexit vote. He usually exports the machines to his home country and fixes them before shipping as far afield as East Africa.
The pound has dropped 13 per cent against the euro since the UK voted to leave the EU.
Cheffins sold about £30 million (Dh 148.2m) of tractors and parts so far this year. The auction can offer good deals: earlier this year, a two-year-old John Deere vehicle sold for £56,000, almost half the cost of a new one.
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Read more:
British farmers fear crop loss as EU workers dwindle
Britain looks to robots to work the fields if cheap labour Brexits
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The auctions also attract local buyers. On the back of lower incomes following several years of falling agricultural prices, UK farmers remain cautious of making investments before the impact of Brexit becomes clearer, says Stephen Howarth, an economist at the Agricultural Engineers Association, which tracks new vehicles.
“Because farmers aren’t doing particularly well, they have had to source good second-hand machinery and that’s why the second-hand market is very strong at present,” adds Mr Pepper, pointing out manufacturers have raised prices for new models. “It’s all about affordability. Most farmers can’t buy, so they have to look at the second-hand market.”
While the average farm income in the UK jumped 20 per cent in the 2016-17 season, it was still 43 per cent below 2011-12’s level, government data show. Bumper grain harvests from Brazil to Russia have depressed prices, with a Bloomberg grain index heading for a fifth annual decline, the longest run in data going back to 1991.
Farmers are also feeling the pinch in the rest of Europe, and one Spanish dealer at the September auction complained about delays to EU subsidy payments which have limited farmers’ income in his country this year.
About 90 per cent of the tractors sold at Cheffins are bought by dealers, who then export most of that, Mr Pepper says.
"The weak pound has meant that these exports can achieve better prices in sterling terms while becoming more competitive on export markets, boosting trade-in values and helping to support activity across the market," adds Mr Howarth.
Recipe
Garlicky shrimp in olive oil
Gambas Al Ajillo
Preparation time: 5 to 10 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes
Serves 4
Ingredients
180ml extra virgin olive oil; 4 to 5 large cloves of garlic, minced or pureed (or 3 to 4 garlic scapes, roughly chopped); 1 or 2 small hot red chillies, dried (or ¼ teaspoon dried red chilli flakes); 400g raw prawns, deveined, heads removed and tails left intact; a generous splash of sweet chilli vinegar; sea salt flakes for seasoning; a small handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Method
▶ Heat the oil in a terracotta dish or frying pan. Once the oil is sizzling hot, add the garlic and chilli, stirring continuously for about 10 seconds until golden and aromatic.
▶ Add a splash of sweet chilli vinegar and as it vigorously simmers, releasing perfumed aromas, add the prawns and cook, stirring a few times.
▶ Once the prawns turn pink, after 1 or 2 minutes of cooking, remove from the heat and season with sea salt flakes.
▶ Once the prawns are cool enough to eat, scatter with parsley and serve with small forks or toothpicks as the perfect sharing starter. Finish off with crusty bread to soak up all that flavour-infused olive oil.
Three ways to limit your social media use
Clinical psychologist, Dr Saliha Afridi at The Lighthouse Arabia suggests three easy things you can do every day to cut back on the time you spend online.
1. Put the social media app in a folder on the second or third screen of your phone so it has to remain a conscious decision to open, rather than something your fingers gravitate towards without consideration.
2. Schedule a time to use social media instead of consistently throughout the day. I recommend setting aside certain times of the day or week when you upload pictures or share information.
3. Take a mental snapshot rather than a photo on your phone. Instead of sharing it with your social world, try to absorb the moment, connect with your feeling, experience the moment with all five of your senses. You will have a memory of that moment more vividly and for far longer than if you take a picture of it.
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
The Kingfisher Secret
Anonymous, Penguin Books
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Who is Allegra Stratton?
- Previously worked at The Guardian, BBC’s Newsnight programme and ITV News
- Took up a public relations role for Chancellor Rishi Sunak in April 2020
- In October 2020 she was hired to lead No 10’s planned daily televised press briefings
- The idea was later scrapped and she was appointed spokeswoman for Cop26
- Ms Stratton, 41, is married to James Forsyth, the political editor of The Spectator
- She has strong connections to the Conservative establishment
- Mr Sunak served as best man at her 2011 wedding to Mr Forsyth
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
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21 Lessons for the 21st Century
Yuval Noah Harari, Jonathan Cape
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COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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