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Archive:European Neighbourhood Policy - South - agriculture statistics

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Data extracted in December 2017. Most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database. Planned article update: February 2019.

This article is part of an online publication and provides data on agricultural statistics for eight of the countries that form the European Neighbourhood Policy-South (ENP-South) region, namely, Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine [1] and Tunisia; no recent data are available for Libya or Syria. The article provides an overview of the key characteristics of agriculture in these countries and in the European Union (EU), providing statistics on the economic contribution of agriculture as well as agricultural output, including crop and livestock production.

Figure 1: Share of gross value added from agriculture, forestry and fishing, 2006 and 2016
(%)
Source: Eurostat (nama_10_a10)
Figure 2: Share of agriculture, forestry and fishing in total employment, 2006 and 2016
(%)
Source: Eurostat (lfsa_egana) and (lfsa_egan2)
Figure 3: Utilised agricultural area as a share of the total area, 2006 and 2016
(%)
Source: Eurostat (apro_acs_a) and (demo_r_d3area)
Table 1: Cereal production (including rice), 2016
(thousand tonnes)
Source: Eurostat (apro_acs_a)
Table 2: Livestock population, December 2016
(thousand heads)
Source: Eurostat (apro_mt_lscatl), (apro_mt_lspig) and (apro_mt_lssheep)
Table 3: Slaughtered production, 2006, 2011 and 2016
(thousand tonnes)
Source: Eurostat (apro_mt_pann)
Table 4: Imports of food and live animals, 2006-2016
(million EUR)
Source: Eurostat (ext_st_eu28sitc)
Table 5: Exports of food and live animals, 2006-2016
(million EUR)
Source: Eurostat (ext_st_eu28sitc)

Main statistical findings

Gross value added and employment

Agriculture, forestry and fishing generally accounted for a much higher share of the workforce in the ENP-South countries than in the EU-28

Between 2006 and 2016, the gross value added shares of the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector declined in most ENP-South countries, the exceptions being Algeria, Tunisia (between 2006 and 2015) and Jordan (also between 2006 and 2015). Despite these reductions, the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector continued to account for a relatively high proportion of total economic activity in the vast majority of the ENP-South countries. While the output of agriculture, forestry and fisheries in the EU-28 accounted for 1.5 % of total gross value added in 2016, its share ranged from 2.9 % in Palestine to 13.6 % in Morocco, with Israel (1.3 %) below this range and also below the share in the EU-28 (see Figure 1).

Figure 2 shows a similar analysis of employment for 2006 and 2016. Within the EU-28, the share of agriculture, forestry and fishing in total employment (for those aged 15 and over) fell from 5.3 % in 2006 to 4.0 % by 2016.

The employment share of agriculture, forestry and fishing in the ENP-South countries for which data are available was generally much higher than in the EU-28, although the share in Israel was lower (1.0 % in 2016). At the other end of the range, close to two fifths (38.0 %) of the workforce in Morocco and more than a quarter (25.6 %) of the workforce in Egypt were employed in agriculture, forestry and fishing.

The share of the workforce in agriculture, forestry and fishing fell between 2006 and 2016 in the EU-28 and the two ENP-South countries for which data are available. The contraction in Palestine was particularly large, with the share more than halving from 16.7 % to 7.4 %. More data on the labour markets in the ENP-South countries are available here.

Land use

The area within each country that is used for farming varies according to climate, terrain and soil type, while the level of economic development and population density may also play a role in determining land use. Within the EU-28 roughly equal proportions of land (around 40 % of the total land area) are used for farming and for forest and woodland, with the remainder of the land being built-up areas (villages, towns and cities), infrastructure (such as roads or railways), scrub or waste land. The proportion of land that is given over to agriculture was nearly three fifths (56.5 %) of the total area in Tunisia in 2012, while in the three other ENP-South countries for which data are available the share was considerably less than in the EU-28, reflecting the mountainous terrains and desert landscapes of some ENP-South countries: 13.8 % in Israel, 12.7 % in Morocco (2012 data) and 3.6 % in Algeria (2013 data) — see Figure 3.

Crop and animal production

Crop yields and production volumes often closely linked to rainfall patterns

The ENP-South countries are often characterised as being arid areas of unfertile soil, covered with rock and sand. Nevertheless, there are pockets of more fertile land within each of the ENP-South countries, particularly along river valleys or close to the coast. While the winter months often see relatively high levels of rainfall, some regions receive little or no rainfall during the summer. The variability in rainfall patterns can play a considerable role in determining the success or failure of each harvest. This variability is reflected in the figures for harvested production.

In 2016, the largest producers of cereals among the ENP-South countries were Egypt (2015 data) and Morocco, with 23.1 million tonnes and 3.6 million tonnes of output respectively. Their main cereal crops were wheat (both countries; note the data for Egypt exclude information for common wheat), barley (Morocco) and grain maize (Egypt) — see Table 1.

Large population of sheep and goats in ENP-South countries

While farming of livestock in the ENP-South countries is shaped by climatic and topographic conditions, cultural and religious traditions also affect the types of animals that are kept. Many subsistence farmers in the ENP-South countries keep a small number of animals on their farm which may be used for eggs, milk, wool/hides, as well as for their meat.

The population of sheep and goats in most of the ENP-South countries was relatively high. This may, at least in part, be linked to the ability of these animals to survive in arid conditions (whereas the ideal conditions for rearing cattle include a plentiful supply of pasture). Pig farming is almost non-existent in ENP-South countries, reflecting the religious practices of their majority Muslim or Jewish populations.

Table 2 provides an analysis of farm animals for the EU-28 and the ENP-South countries in December 2016. Apart from the obvious difference concerning pig farming, there was also a considerable difference in the number of cattle raised in the EU-28 and the ENP-South countries; the total number of cattle across the ENP-South countries for which data are available (December 2015 data for Egypt, Jordan and Tunisia, no data for Lebanon or Palestine) equated to just 13 % of the total number in the EU-28. Data availability for the ENP-South countries is better for sheep and goats: based on the information shown in Table 2 there were over 63 million sheep in the ENP-South countries and 17 million goats. As such, the number of sheep was equivalent to about three quarters of the total across the EU-28 whereas there were many more goats in the ENP-South countries than in the EU-28.

The structure of animal output — as measured by the quantity of slaughtered production — differs from the structure of the animal populations in each country, in large part due to the fact that a proportion of cattle, sheep and goats are reared for milk rather than for meat. In all of the ENP-South countries for which data are available (see Table 3), poultry accounted for the highest quantity of slaughtered production in 2016. Production from sheep and goats outweighed production from cattle in Jordan (2014 data) and Tunisia (2015 data).

Trade in food and live animals

The value of international trade in food and live animals has grown at a rapid pace over the last decade in nearly all of the ENP-South countries; note this may, in part, be due to increased prices as the values shown in Tables 4 and 5 are presented in current prices. Fluctuating prices for raw and processed foodstuffs may have a considerable impact on the trade position of a country, while climatic conditions can affect yields and determine if there is a surplus of food for export or if there is a deficit which may lead to higher levels of imports.

The EU-28 consistently ran a trade deficit in food and live animal products over the period 2006-2016; note that the trade data presented for the EU-28 in Tables 4 and 5 concern extra-EU trade. All of the ENP-South countries for which data are available also recorded trade deficits during this 10-year period with the exception of Morocco which recorded surpluses for food and live animals in 2006, 2009, 2015 and 2016.

Whereas the trade deficit in these products was lower in 2016 than it had been in 2006 in the EU-28, the reverse was true for Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan (comparing 2006 and 2015), Palestine and Tunisia.

Collectively, the exports of food and live animals from ENP-South countries (2015 data for Jordan; excluding Lebanon) were valued at EUR 11.4 billion in 2016, equivalent to about around 13.6 % of the EU-28 total, while the value of imports of these goods into the ENP-South countries was EUR 30.4 billion, equivalent to 30.1 % of the EU-28 total.

The highest values of exports of food and live animals from the ENP-South countries were recorded in 2016 for Morocco (EUR 4.0 billion) and Egypt (EUR 3.7 billion), which were more than double the level of exports from Israel which recorded the third highest value. Palestine had the lowest level of exports of food and live animals among the ENP-South countries, some EUR 147 million in 2016.

Exports of food and live animals from Algeria were 5.8 times as high in 2016 as their level in 2006, whereas exports from Egypt were 5.4 times as high and from Palestine they were 4.8 times as high. Exports of food and live animals from Jordan (2006-2015) and Morocco more than doubled over this period, as did exports from the EU-28, and there was also growth recorded for Tunisia (up 79 %) and Israel (up 70 %).

Data sources and availability

The data for ENP-South countries are supplied by and under the responsibility of the national statistical authorities of each country on a voluntary basis. The data that are presented in this article result from an annual data collection cycle that has been established by Eurostat. No recent data are available from either Libya or Syria. These statistics are available free-of-charge on Eurostat’s website, together with a range of different indicators covering most socio-economic areas.

Tables in this article use the following notation:

Value in italics     data value is forecasted, provisional or estimated and is therefore likely to change;
: not available, confidential or unreliable value;
– not applicable.

Context

Agriculture was one of the first sectors of the economy (following coal and steel) to receive the attention of EU policymakers, and statistics on agriculture were initially designed to monitor the main objectives of the common agricultural policy (CAP). While the CAP remains one of the EU’s most important policies there has been a widespread evaluation, which has led to a range of new objectives designed to correct imbalances and overproduction. These changes are reflected in the statistics collected, for example, the development of agri-environmental indicators.

On 18 November 2015, the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the European Commission jointly presented a review of the European Neighbourhood Policy (SWD(2015) 500 final) which underlined a new approach for the EU in relation to its eastern and southern neighbours, based on stabilising the region in political, economic, and security-related terms.

In cooperation with its ENP partners, Eurostat has the responsibility ‘to promote and implement the use of European and internationally recognised standards and methodology for the production of statistics, necessary for developing and monitoring policy achievements in all policy areas’. Eurostat undertakes the task of coordinating EU efforts to increase the statistical capacity of the ENP countries. Additional information on the policy context of the ENP is provided here.

See also

Further Eurostat information

Publications

Database

Agriculture (med_ag)
Structural information (med_ag1)
Crop production (med_ag2)
Meat (Total production) (med_ag31)
Annual production and utilisation of milk on the farm (med_ag32)
Livestock in number of heads (med_ag33)
Economic Accounts for Agriculture (EAA) (med_ag50)

Dedicated section

Source data for tables and figures (MS Excel)

External links

Notes

  1. ↑ This designation shall not be construed as recognition of a State of Palestine and is without prejudice to the individual positions of the Member States on this issue.


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