NEWS | Wednesday, 12 March 2008

EU real agricultural income per worker up by 5.4%

EU27 real agricultural income per worker rose by 5.4% in 2007 after increasing by 3.3% in 2006. This increase was the result of a growth in real agricultural income (+3.1%) and a reduction in agricultural labour input (-2.2%).
This growth in EU27 real agricultural income in 2007 was itself the result of: an increase in output of agriculture at basic prices in real terms (+4.3%); a rise in input costs (+5.8%) and a slight decrease in depreciation (-0.3%), in real terms; a decrease in the real value of subsidies net of taxes (-2.8%).
These estimates for the EU27 published by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, are based on data supplied by the national authorities in the Member States.
In 2007, agricultural income tended to develop differently in the north and south of the EU27. The largest increases in real agricultural income per worker were observed in Lithuania (+39.3%), Estonia (+22.5%), the Czech Republic (+20.9%) and Sweden (+16.5%), and the largest decreases in Romania (-16.7%), Bulgaria (-8.5%) and Portugal (-5.0%).
Maltese agricultural workers saw their real income drop by 1.7%.
EU27 agricultural output in 2007 grew by 4.3%, mainly due to a significant increase in the value of crop production (+7.8%), while the value of animal production remained nearly stable (+0.6%).
The rise in the value of crop production in 2007 was due to a growth in producer prices (+10.4%), which was only partly offset by a fall in output volume (-1.7%). Output volumes of the three largest crop products fell: cereals (-2.9%), fresh vegetables (-1.7%) and fruits (-5.7%). The sharpest increases in crop prices were recorded for cereals (+46.2%) and oil seeds (+21.9%). On the other hand, prices for olive oil (-19.4%) and sugar beet (-12.8%) fell significantly.
The relative stability in the value of animal output in 2007 was the result of a small rise in output volumes (+1.9%) and a slight decrease in producer prices (-0.5%). The growth in the real value of milk production was driven by a rise in prices (+8.8%), while volume remained nearly stable (-0.3%). The increase in the volume of pig production (+4.9%) was outweighed by sharply falling prices (-12.4%). In the case of cattle, production volumes (+2.0%) rose, while producer prices (-5.0%) decreased. EU27 agricultural input costs (intermediate consumption) grew by 5.8%, mainly owing to the sharp increase in feeding stuff prices (+14.0%), which was itself largely due to higher crop producer prices. Energy costs decreased (-2.6%), mostly due to the reduction in volumes (-2.2%).