Reference metadata describe statistical concepts and methodologies used for the collection and generation of data. They provide information on data quality and, since they are strongly content-oriented, assist users in interpreting the data. Reference metadata, unlike structural metadata, can be decoupled from the data.
Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Union
1.2. Contact organisation unit
E1: Agriculture and fisheries
1.3. Contact name
Confidential because of GDPR
1.4. Contact person function
Confidential because of GDPR
1.5. Contact mail address
2920 Luxembourg LUXEMBOURG
1.6. Contact email address
Confidential because of GDPR
1.7. Contact phone number
Confidential because of GDPR
1.8. Contact fax number
Confidential because of GDPR
2.1. Metadata last certified
31 January 2024
2.2. Metadata last posted
31 January 2024
2.3. Metadata last update
31 January 2024
3.1. Data description
Crop statistics refer to the following types of annual data:
area under cultivation, harvested production, yield, humidity and main area for cereals and for other main field crops (mainly dried pulses, root crops, fodder and industrial crops);
harvested area, harvested production and main area for vegetables ;
production area, harvested production and main area for permanent crops.
The data are provided at national level. For some products regional figures (NUTS 1 or 2) are available too. The areas are expressed in 1 000 hectares, the harvested quantities in 1 000 tonnes and the yields in tonne/ha. The production and yield data are available in EU standard humidity (apro_cpsh) and in national humidity (apro_cpnh). The information concerns more than 100 crop products.
The earliest data are available from 1955 for cereals and from the early 1960's for fruits and vegetables. However, most Member States have started to send in data in the 1970's and 1980's. The statistical system has progressively improved and enlarged. The current Regulation (EC) No 543/2009 entered into force in January 2010. The annex was updated in 2015 through a Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 2015/1557. At present Eurostat receives and publishes harmonised statistical data from EU Member States, from the EFTA countries and from the candidate and potential candidate countries broken down in:
17 categories and subcategories for cereals;
28 categories and subcategories for other main crops (mainly dry pulses and protein crops, root crops industrial crops and plants harvested green from arable land);
36 categories and subcategories for vegetables;
35 categories and subcategories for permanent crops;
18 categories and subcategories for the Utilised Agricultural Area (UAA).
For the complete list of crops, please refer to Annex A of the Annual Crop Statistics Handbook (see Annex).
The main data sources are administrative records, surveys and expert estimates. National Statistical Institutes or Ministries of Agriculture are responsible for the national data collection in accordance with the Regulations and agreements in force.
Eurostat is responsible for compiling the EU aggregates.
Regional metadata
Please note that for paragraphs where no metadata for regional data has been specified the regional metadata is identical to the metadata for the national data.
3.2. Classification system
For the complete list of crops, please refer to Annex A of the ACS Handbook (see Annex).
The territorial classification of regional data is broken down according to the NUTS classification.
The crop areas and production data are available at NUTS 0 level, but some characteristics also at NUTS 1 and 2 level, except for Germany that is available only at NUTS 1 level.
The geographical classification for country codes is ISO 3166.
3.3. Coverage - sector
Main crops from the Utilised Agricultural Area and mushrooms.
For cereals, dry pulses, root crops, industrial crops and plants harvested green the areas refer to the area under cultivation. Area under cultivation means the area that corresponds to the total sown area, but after the harvest it excludes ruined areas (e.g. due to natural disasters) or area not harvested for economic reasons. If the same land parcel is used twice in the same year, the area of this parcel can be counted twice.
For vegetables the area refers to the harvested area. For many vegetables the cropping time is short so the same area can be used several times during the same year. For this reason, the harvested area can be much bigger than the physical area of a parcel (main area).
For permanent crops the area refers to the production area. The production area refers to the area that can potentially be harvested in the reference harvest year. All non-productive areas are excluded (e.g. non-productive young plantations, areas abandoned for more than 5 years, etc.).
The concept of "main area" used in main land use data corresponds, in general, to the area of the land parcel. The crop/occupation linked to that area is the unique or main crop having occupied the parcel during the crop year. In the case of annual crops, the main area should correspond to the sown area. For permanent crops it refers to the total planted area (including non-productive young plantations). In the case of successive crops (mostly vegetables) it refers to the main crop that occupied the parcel during that year and in the case of simultaneous crops, to the corresponding area of the different crops. These special cases are described in detail in the ACS Handbook (see Annex).
Production means the harvested production. Harvested production means the production which is harvested and transported away from the field. It includes losses and wastage which take place on the agricultural holding after harvest, quantities consumed directly on the farm and marketed quantities. It is indicated in units of basic product weight.
Biological (real) production
Harvested production
Usable production
Marketed production
Direct consumption
On-holding losses and wastage
Harvesting losses
Non-harvested
Harvest year means the calendar year in which the harvest begins.
Yield is the harvested production divided by the area under cultivation.
3.5. Statistical unit
Land parcel cultivated for the production of a crop.
3.6. Statistical population
All Utilised Agricultural Area cultivated with crops.
3.7. Reference area
European Union Member States, EFTA/EEA countries (except Liechtenstein, which is exempt from the data transmission obligation), candidate countries and potential candidate countries.
Most of the data refer to a whole country. For some crops, data are transmitted also at regional level, using NUTS 1 or NUTS 2. Eurostat publishes also EU-aggregates.
3.8. Coverage - Time
The data are annual and presented in time series for each country and for the EU.
The period covered depends on each country's date of accession to the European Union. The earliest data are available from 1955 for cereals and from the early 1960's for fruits and vegetables.
The data delivery for each crop year takes place in several data transmissions.
The first data delivery for crops from arable area takes place at the end of January the of the current crop year (year n) for arable crops. The final data is delivered at the end of September the following year (n+1). In between there are 3-4 intermediate data deliveries for area and production data. By definition all data delivered before the last final delivery is to be considered preliminary data.
The final data for vegetables, mushrooms and permanent crops are delivered at the end of March year n+1), except for citrus fruits at the end of September year n+1 due to their late harvest.
3.9. Base period
Not applicable.
The areas are expressed in 1 000 hectares.
The harvested quantities are expressed in 1 000 tonnes.
The yield is expressed in t/ha.
The humidity is expressed in %.
The reference period is the harvest year. The year 2023 indicates that the data refer to production which is harvested in 2023. Certain products, like root crops (fodder kale) or fruits (citrus fruits and olives) may be harvested over two consecutive calendar years (n and n+1), in which case the harvest is recorded by agreement under the preceding year (n).
6.1. Institutional Mandate - legal acts and other agreements
Commission Regulation (EU) 2016/2066 amending the annexes to Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the establishment of a common classification of territorial units for statistics (NUTS).
Commission Delegated Regulation 2019/1755 amending the Annexes to Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the establishment of a common classification of territorial units for statistics (NUTS)
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/674 amending the Annexes to Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the establishment of a common classification of territorial units for statistics (NUTS)
Delegated regulation - 2023/674 amending the Annexes to Regulation (EC) No 1059/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the establishment of a common classification of territorial units for statistics (NUTS)
Starting from the reference year 2025, the new Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1538 laying down rules for the application of Regulation (EU) 2022/2379 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards crop production statistics, will be applicable. The Regulation (EC) No 543/2009 and the ESS agreement on Annual Crop Statistics will no longer apply.
6.2. Institutional Mandate - data sharing
No formal agreements in place.
7.1. Confidentiality - policy
Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics (recital 24 and Article 20(4)) of 11 March 2009 (OJ L 87, p. 164), stipulates the need to establish common principles and guidelines ensuring the confidentiality of data used for the production of European statistics and the access to those confidential data with due account for technical developments and the requirements of users in a democratic society.
7.2. Confidentiality - data treatment
Most national data for annual crop statistics are not confidential. Some regional data are confidential due to very small number of units (1-3). These data are not disseminated.
8.1. Release calendar
The data are disseminated, in general, approximately two weeks after the data transmission deadlines, which in line with Regulation (EC) No 543/2009 are following:
Year n (crop year):
31 January: area for winter crops
30 June: area for arable crops
31 August: area and yield for arable crops
30 September: area and production for arable crops
31 October: production for arable crops
Year n+1 (year following the crop year):
31 January: area and production for arable crops
31 March: area and production for arable crops, area and production for vegetables and permanent crops
30 September: final area and production for arable crops, area and production for citrus fruits, main areas for Utilised Agricultural Area.
Regulation (EC) No 543/2009 requires that the Member States transmit a quality report to Eurostat every three years, starting from 1 October 2011.
The Handbook gives guidance on the methodology for collecting data on annual crop production statistics (see Annex).
11.2. Quality management - assessment
Eurostat monitors regularly the quality of crop statistics. In general, the availability, completeness and punctuality are good, in particular for the data starting from 2000. The data prior to 2000 are available in a separate dissemination table.
12.1. Relevance - User Needs
The main user of the crop statistics data is DG Agriculture and Rural development of the European Commission. Other important users are: other Commission services (e.g. DG Environment, the Joint Research Centre), other European institutions or agencies (e.g. EFSA), national administrations, National Statistical Institutes, economic actors (traders and processing industries, producer groups and unions), research institutes, journalists and the general public.
The objectives of these clients are various analysis, dissemination, information for specialist and the general public, financial investors, forecasts, market management, decisions on production, internal and external trade, documentation, methodology, etc.
12.2. Relevance - User Satisfaction
No user satisfaction survey exists.
12.3. Completeness
Most of the requested data are available, but there are some missing data in the older time series. Please note that not all crop variables are covered by Regulations, and hence are not obligatory.
13.1. Accuracy - overall
The accuracy for the final data delivery is assessed to be good.
13.2. Sampling error
According to the Regulation (EC) No 543/2009 the coefficient of variation of the data to be provided by 30 September of the year n+1 shall not exceed, at national level, 3 % for the area under cultivation for each of the following groups of main crops: cereals for the production of grain (including seed), dried pulses and protein crops for the production of grain (including seed and mixtures of cereals and pulses), root crops, industrial crops and plants harvested green.
13.3. Non-sampling error
Not available.
14.1. Timeliness
The deadlines for the data deliveries for different crops are listed in the table below:
Deadline
Arable crops
31-Jan-year n
30-Jun-year n
31-Aug-year n
30-Sep-year n
31-Oct-year n
31-Jan-year n+1
30-Sep-year n+1
Vegetables
31-Mar-year n+1
Permanent crops
31-Mar-year n+1
30-Sep-year n+1
Main land use
30-Sep-year n+1
Up until the August deadline the figures are estimates of production and yield. From the September deadline onwards they are based on real production figures.
Normally the longest time lag between the event and the data availability is one year (for vegetables, permanent crops and land use).
14.2. Punctuality
Most data deliveries are on time. Most of the delayed data transmissions are late by some days only.
15.1. Comparability - geographical
Geographical comparability is very good.
Comparability of regional data over time is affected by breaks in the NUTS classification.
15.2. Comparability - over time
As the time series is very long (from 1955), the full comparability over time is impossible to guarantee, because of changed legal basis, methodological changes, new classifications, new Member States starting to deliver data etc.
The data for Germany covers until 1990 the former territory of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) only.
The cross-domain comparability is in general good. The slight differences are linked to different definitions and data collection methods.
15.4. Coherence - internal
Since the data are supplied by the Member States, they conduct the necessary checks before the data are sent to Eurostat.
Data validation is performed at Eurostat to eliminate possible consistency errors.
The data are collected by the Member States by using surveys, administrative sources and expert estimates. The exact cost of the data collection is not known by Eurostat.
In crop production statistics, the data are transmitted on dates stipulated by legislation (see 15.1 'Comparability – geographical'). Initially, the disseminated data are provisional and can be routinely revised several times; the final data are normally transmitted the year following the harvest.
All reported errors (once validated) result in corrections of the disseminated data.
Reported errors are corrected in the disseminated data as soon as the correct data have been validated.
Data may be published even if the data set is not complete and some data are missing for certain countries or flagged as provisional or of low reliability for certain countries. They are replaced with final data once they are transmitted and validated. European aggregates are always updated for consistency with new country data.
Whenever new data are provided and validated, the already disseminated data are updated. Data are usually revised for the ongoing harvest year. The European aggregates and components are revised at the same time. Data are considered to be final the year following the harvest year, in line with the legislation.
18.1. Source data
Surveys, administrative data and estimates based on expert observations are the main data sources. The sources are not the same for every Member State but are adapted to national conditions and statistical practices. For the data governed by the regulation, the quality level is indicated in the legislation.
18.2. Frequency of data collection
Data is collected yearly. Member States send first provisional data which is updated when the final data become available (see 14.1.'Timeliness').
18.3. Data collection
The crop statistics are collected by the National Statistical Institutes and/or Ministries of Agriculture by using several statistical data collection methods:
sample surveys
administrative sources
expert estimates
Most often a combination of several methods is used.
The Member States are required to send the data via eDamis on all variables listed in the Regulation (EC) No 543/2009, unless they have reported some crops as non-significant or as non-existing crops in the country. Regular reminders are sent if the countries haven't submitted the data covered by the regulation. In addition, the Members States that signed the ESS agreement on annual crop statistics have to send to Eurostat all data listed in this agreement.
18.4. Data validation
The Member States are responsible for checking and validating the data before the submission to Eurostat. Validation at Eurostat level concerns transmission errors and data consistency.
18.5. Data compilation
The Member States send the national data to Eurostat. Eurostat is responsible for calculation of the EU-aggregates.
The area aggregates are calculated by summing up the national areas delivered by the EU Member States. The production aggregates for cereals, oilseeds, dry pulses and plants harvested green are standardized to the standard EU-humidities:
Product
Standard EU aggregate humidity
Cereals (except rice)
14 %
Rice
13 %
Dry pulses and protein crops
14 %
Rape and turnip rape seeds
9 %
Sunflower seed
9 %
Soya seed
14 %
Linseed (oil flax)
9 %
Cotton seed
9 %
All Plants harvested green
65%
The Member States deliver the production data by either fixed or varying humidity degrees. These humidity degrees are available in the Eurostat dissemination database under the dimension 'Humidity' in the national views.
The calculation of the standard humidity (HU) is based on the following formula:
Production in the EU standard Humidity = (Harvested production x (100 – national HU))/(100 – EU standard HU).
EU aggregates of production data are published in standard EU humidity only, both in table Crop production in EU standard humidity (apro_cpsh1) and Crop production in national humidity (apro_cpnh1).
Crop statistics refer to the following types of annual data:
area under cultivation, harvested production, yield, humidity and main area for cereals and for other main field crops (mainly dried pulses, root crops, fodder and industrial crops);
harvested area, harvested production and main area for vegetables ;
production area, harvested production and main area for permanent crops.
The data are provided at national level. For some products regional figures (NUTS 1 or 2) are available too. The areas are expressed in 1 000 hectares, the harvested quantities in 1 000 tonnes and the yields in tonne/ha. The production and yield data are available in EU standard humidity (apro_cpsh) and in national humidity (apro_cpnh). The information concerns more than 100 crop products.
The earliest data are available from 1955 for cereals and from the early 1960's for fruits and vegetables. However, most Member States have started to send in data in the 1970's and 1980's. The statistical system has progressively improved and enlarged. The current Regulation (EC) No 543/2009 entered into force in January 2010. The annex was updated in 2015 through a Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 2015/1557. At present Eurostat receives and publishes harmonised statistical data from EU Member States, from the EFTA countries and from the candidate and potential candidate countries broken down in:
17 categories and subcategories for cereals;
28 categories and subcategories for other main crops (mainly dry pulses and protein crops, root crops industrial crops and plants harvested green from arable land);
36 categories and subcategories for vegetables;
35 categories and subcategories for permanent crops;
18 categories and subcategories for the Utilised Agricultural Area (UAA).
For the complete list of crops, please refer to Annex A of the Annual Crop Statistics Handbook (see Annex).
The main data sources are administrative records, surveys and expert estimates. National Statistical Institutes or Ministries of Agriculture are responsible for the national data collection in accordance with the Regulations and agreements in force.
Eurostat is responsible for compiling the EU aggregates.
Regional metadata
Please note that for paragraphs where no metadata for regional data has been specified the regional metadata is identical to the metadata for the national data.
For cereals, dry pulses, root crops, industrial crops and plants harvested green the areas refer to the area under cultivation. Area under cultivation means the area that corresponds to the total sown area, but after the harvest it excludes ruined areas (e.g. due to natural disasters) or area not harvested for economic reasons. If the same land parcel is used twice in the same year, the area of this parcel can be counted twice.
For vegetables the area refers to the harvested area. For many vegetables the cropping time is short so the same area can be used several times during the same year. For this reason, the harvested area can be much bigger than the physical area of a parcel (main area).
For permanent crops the area refers to the production area. The production area refers to the area that can potentially be harvested in the reference harvest year. All non-productive areas are excluded (e.g. non-productive young plantations, areas abandoned for more than 5 years, etc.).
The concept of "main area" used in main land use data corresponds, in general, to the area of the land parcel. The crop/occupation linked to that area is the unique or main crop having occupied the parcel during the crop year. In the case of annual crops, the main area should correspond to the sown area. For permanent crops it refers to the total planted area (including non-productive young plantations). In the case of successive crops (mostly vegetables) it refers to the main crop that occupied the parcel during that year and in the case of simultaneous crops, to the corresponding area of the different crops. These special cases are described in detail in the ACS Handbook (see Annex).
Production means the harvested production. Harvested production means the production which is harvested and transported away from the field. It includes losses and wastage which take place on the agricultural holding after harvest, quantities consumed directly on the farm and marketed quantities. It is indicated in units of basic product weight.
Biological (real) production
Harvested production
Usable production
Marketed production
Direct consumption
On-holding losses and wastage
Harvesting losses
Non-harvested
Harvest year means the calendar year in which the harvest begins.
Yield is the harvested production divided by the area under cultivation.
Land parcel cultivated for the production of a crop.
All Utilised Agricultural Area cultivated with crops.
European Union Member States, EFTA/EEA countries (except Liechtenstein, which is exempt from the data transmission obligation), candidate countries and potential candidate countries.
Most of the data refer to a whole country. For some crops, data are transmitted also at regional level, using NUTS 1 or NUTS 2. Eurostat publishes also EU-aggregates.
The reference period is the harvest year. The year 2023 indicates that the data refer to production which is harvested in 2023. Certain products, like root crops (fodder kale) or fruits (citrus fruits and olives) may be harvested over two consecutive calendar years (n and n+1), in which case the harvest is recorded by agreement under the preceding year (n).
The accuracy for the final data delivery is assessed to be good.
The areas are expressed in 1 000 hectares.
The harvested quantities are expressed in 1 000 tonnes.
The yield is expressed in t/ha.
The humidity is expressed in %.
The Member States send the national data to Eurostat. Eurostat is responsible for calculation of the EU-aggregates.
The area aggregates are calculated by summing up the national areas delivered by the EU Member States. The production aggregates for cereals, oilseeds, dry pulses and plants harvested green are standardized to the standard EU-humidities:
Product
Standard EU aggregate humidity
Cereals (except rice)
14 %
Rice
13 %
Dry pulses and protein crops
14 %
Rape and turnip rape seeds
9 %
Sunflower seed
9 %
Soya seed
14 %
Linseed (oil flax)
9 %
Cotton seed
9 %
All Plants harvested green
65%
The Member States deliver the production data by either fixed or varying humidity degrees. These humidity degrees are available in the Eurostat dissemination database under the dimension 'Humidity' in the national views.
The calculation of the standard humidity (HU) is based on the following formula:
Production in the EU standard Humidity = (Harvested production x (100 – national HU))/(100 – EU standard HU).
EU aggregates of production data are published in standard EU humidity only, both in table Crop production in EU standard humidity (apro_cpsh1) and Crop production in national humidity (apro_cpnh1).
Surveys, administrative data and estimates based on expert observations are the main data sources. The sources are not the same for every Member State but are adapted to national conditions and statistical practices. For the data governed by the regulation, the quality level is indicated in the legislation.
The data are annual.
Eurostat receives and disseminates first provisional data several times per year, which is followed by final data (see 8.1 'Release calendar').
The deadlines for the data deliveries for different crops are listed in the table below:
Deadline
Arable crops
31-Jan-year n
30-Jun-year n
31-Aug-year n
30-Sep-year n
31-Oct-year n
31-Jan-year n+1
30-Sep-year n+1
Vegetables
31-Mar-year n+1
Permanent crops
31-Mar-year n+1
30-Sep-year n+1
Main land use
30-Sep-year n+1
Up until the August deadline the figures are estimates of production and yield. From the September deadline onwards they are based on real production figures.
Normally the longest time lag between the event and the data availability is one year (for vegetables, permanent crops and land use).
Geographical comparability is very good.
Comparability of regional data over time is affected by breaks in the NUTS classification.
As the time series is very long (from 1955), the full comparability over time is impossible to guarantee, because of changed legal basis, methodological changes, new classifications, new Member States starting to deliver data etc.
The data for Germany covers until 1990 the former territory of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) only.
