Brussels, 22/07/2014 (Agence Europe) - Agricultural income per labour unit in the agricultural year 2013 was down 1.3%, following increases in 2012, 2011 and 2012, according to the 2013 report on agriculture in the EU (economic and statistical information), which was published by the European Commission on Tuesday 22 July.
The greatest increases in agricultural revenue were seen in the Netherlands, Romania and Spain (10% each), with the sharpest drops recorded in Estonia (-17%), France and Croatia (-16% each). The report shows that there are around 12 million farms in the EU and agriculture represents 5.2% of all EU employment, with considerable variations between the countries.
The value of the agricultural production of the EU27 remained unchanged in 2013 in real terms, with an increase in the performance of the value of animal production (+1.5%) and a decrease in that of vegetable production (-1.1%).
Cereals. In 2013, the area cultivated under cereals (excluding rice) rose only slightly (+3%), to 57.8 million hectares. However, cereals production was up 8%, to 301.5 million tonnes (soft wheat production, which represents 45% of all cereals grown, rose 8.3% to 134.9 million tonnes). Total production of oil seeds was expected to stand at 29.8 million tonnes in 2013, representing an increase of 9.2% on the previous year.
As regards protein crops, production is expected to rise by 13% to 2.6 million tonnes (following a drop of 19.3% in 2012).
The production declarations for the marketing year 2012/2013 indicate total production of must for wine and grape juices of around 144.5 million hectolitres (or a drop of 12% from the previous year), 198.9 million hectolitres of which were vinified. This represents the lowest level of production in some years, with steep drops in France (-21% to 40.6 million hectolitres), Spain (-10%) and Italy (-7% to 41.5 million hectolitres). In the fruit sector, 2013 was an overall positive year, the Commission notes (however, there was a 7% drop in the production of nectarines and peaches).
The production of olive oil in 2012/2013 fell by 38% to 1.5 million tonnes (including 415,500 tonnes in Italy, 616,300 tonnes in Spain, 347,900 tonnes in Greece, 59,100 tonnes in Portugal, 56,000 in Cyprus, 4800 tonnes in France and 200 tonnes and Slovenia). This meant that imports were up 75%, to 144,900 tonnes.
In the beef sector, 2013 saw a halt in the declining trend of cattle herd numbers (+0.5%). Exports of beef fell by 30%, whilst the production of beef meat in the EU is expected to drop by 3% to 7.6 million tonnes. The Commission predicts a slight drop in pig (-1.2%) and sheep production (-0.8%), but an increase in poultry production (+1% to 12.7 million tonnes).
High prices and limited supply characterised the market for milk and dairy products in 2013. The low milk collection in the EU as well as in New Zealand and Australia fuelled a strong increase in European prices, pushing them to new highs (around €40/100 kg of milk in October 2013). (LC)