Brussels, 18/12/2009 (Agence Europe) - EU27 real agricultural income per worker has decreased by 12.2% in 2009, following a decrease by 2.5% in 2008, according to first estimates issued by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities. This decline results from a reduction in real agricultural income (-14.2%), together with a fall in agricultural labour input (-2.2%).
Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel expressed concern at these figures, saying: “Clearly, the economic crisis has had a very serious effect on our farmers with lower demand and relatively high production costs. This situation highlights more clearly than ever the need for a strong, modern and effective Common Agricultural Policy”.
Eurostat explains that the fall in real agricultural income in the EU27 in 2009 is mainly the result of a sharp fall in the value of agricultural output at producer prices in real terms (-10.9%).
In 2009, real agricultural income per worker is estimated to have fallen in 22 member states and to have risen in five. The largest falls are expected in Hungary (-35.6%), Italy (-25.3%), Luxembourg (-25.1%), the Czech Republic (-24.1%), Ireland (-22.3%), Germany (-21.0%), Austria (-20.4%) and France (-19.8%), and the highest rises in the United Kingdom (+14.3%), Malta (+9.1%) and Finland (+2.6%).
Crop production. Prices have fallen for all categories of crop production except plants and flowers (+0.3%). Prices fell most sharply for cereals (-27.5%), industrial crops (-15.6%), olive oil (-14.7%) and fruit (-12.3%). A rise in volume is seen for industrial crops (+8.6%), while olive oil (-8.9%) and cereals (-4.9%) are declining.
Animal production. The decrease in the value of animal production in 2009 is the result of a clear fall in producer prices (-8.7%) and a slight decline in volume (-1.1%). Prices are falling for the three largest animal products: milk (-20.3%), pigs (-4.2%) and cattle (-1.8%). The volume remains the same for milk production, is nearly stable for pigs (-0.3%) and decreases for cattle (-2.9%).
In the EU27, agricultural input costs (intermediate consumption) are expected to fall by 9.2% in real terms, due to decreases in both volume (-3.1%) and prices (-6.3%).
Between 2005 and 2009, EU27 real income per workers is estimated to have decreased by 1.7%. On average, agricultural labour input in the EU27 has fallen by 11.5% since 2005. (L.C./transl.jl)