The AEA says the number of agricultural tractors registered in the UK in December was back above its level a year before, having dipped below 2020's figure in November.

Stephen Howarth, agricultural economist at the Association, said, "At 883 machines, the monthly total was 14% higher than in the final month of 2020 and 16% above the 2015-19 average. Indeed, it was the highest figure for the time of year since 2017, when registrations were inflated by pre-registrations ahead of the application of new regulations.

The December figure brings the total number of machines registered during the year to 12,017.

"That is 16% higher than in 2020 but very close to the size of the market in each of the three years before that," said Stephen. "It is likely that registrations would have been higher still were it not for disruptions to global supply chains, which led to an increase in delivery lead times for a wide range of manufactured products, including tractors.

"That will have meant that some machines which would ordinarily have been delivered (and registered) in 2021 will have been delayed into 2022."