Brussels, 14/01/2014 (Agence Europe) - In 2023, farmers' real income will be 46.8% above the average of the reference period 2003-2007, the Commission confirms in its 2013/2023 forecasts for agricultural markets (see EUROPE 10990). This development is a result of the continued drop in the number of farmers (-42.3%), as the overall real income will be down 15.1%, according to projections presented to the press on Tuesday 14 January. Farmers in the 13 most recent member states will be the real winners, with a leap of over 35% in revenue, more than double that of their colleagues from the 15 older member states. A return to the farming profession has begun in the countries of southern Europe that were most severely by the debt crisis, but it is too soon to say whether this trend will be confirmed over the medium term.
The Commission does not foresee any setbacks for EU exports thanks to the added value provided by European products. Cheese will be one of the leading European products over the next decade, accounting for most of the rise in production expected in the dairy sector. The Commission is, for 2023, counting on meat consumption of 66.1 kg per person, the 2011 level, after the historic low in 2013 (64.7 kg). Only poultry meat is on the rise (increase of +1.5% annually in consumption of poultry meat, to 22.1 kg per person in 2023). Bovine and sheep meat production and consumption are expected to fall and the consumption of pig meat will stabilise (31.8 kg/person). (LC/transl.jl)