Statistics Explained

Archive:Agricultural accounts and prices

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Data from September 2013. Most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database.

This article gives an overview of indicators on agricultural output, agricultural income and of agricultural prices in the European Union (EU). The data are extracted from Eurostat collections of agricultural statistics: economic accounts for agriculture (EAA), agricultural price indices (API) and absolute agricultural prices.

Main statistical findings

Agricultural output

The economic accounts for agriculture show that the total output of the agricultural industry (comprising the output values of crops and animals, agricultural services and the goods and services produced from inseparable non-agricultural secondary activities) in the EU-28 in 2012 was an estimated EUR 408.4 billion at basic prices. The equivalent of 60.7 % of the value of agricultural output generated was spent on intermediate consumption (input goods and services). The residual gross value added at basic prices was the equivalent of 39.3 % of the value of total output in 2012 or EUR 160.6 billion.

Final output

The output value of the EU-28’s agricultural industry at producer prices (therefore excluding subsidies, less taxes on products) was an estimated EUR 404.4 billion in 2012. France was the largest agricultural producer in the EU-28 (EUR 75.1 billion or 18.6 % of the EU-28 total), followed by Germany (13.8 %), Italy (11.9 %) and Spain (10.5 %); relative to its size, the Netherlands accounted for quite a high share of the EU-28’s agricultural output (6.5 %).

During the period 2005–12, the value of agricultural output rose in all of the EU Member States other than Greece (where output fluctuated but was largely unchanged). The highest increases in output value (in absolute terms) were recorded for the two largest producers, namely France and Germany, output rising by EUR 18.9 billion and EUR 16.8 billion respectively. There were also relatively large increases in agricultural output in the United Kingdom, Poland, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands.

The biggest relative gains during the period 2005–12 in agricultural output were recorded for Germany, Poland and the United Kingdom: the highest increase being in Germany (its share in the EU-28 total rising by 1.2 percentage points). At the other end of the range, the relative weight of Greece, Spain and Italy fell; the most pronounced reduction was recorded for Italy (its share of the EU-28 total falling by 1.6 percentage points).

Table 2 shows that the main components of the EU-28’s agricultural industry in 2012 were crop output (51.8 % of the total) and animal output (40.8 %); agricultural services (4.7 %) and inseparable secondary activities — generally the processing of agricultural products — provided the residual shares (4.7 % and 2.8 %). The agricultural products accounting for the highest share of output value in the EU-28’s agricultural industry in 2012 were cereals (14.4 %) and milk (12.7 %), while pig and cattle output also accounted for relatively large shares (9.3 % and 8.2 %). More information on the production of agricultural products is provided in separate articles on crops and livestock and meat.

Table 2 also shows the annual change in EU-28 agricultural output in volume terms between 2011 and 2012 (-3.1 %). The volume of crop output fell by 5.3 %, with the biggest rates of decline being recorded for wine (-15.5 %) and potatoes (-14.0 %). Output volumes fell for each of the remaining crops detailed in the table — with the exception of olive oil (+5.9 %) — including the three crop products with the highest value of output, namely, cereals (-7.0 %), fresh vegetables (-2.8 %) and fruits (-7.2 %).

The volume of animal output fell by 0.5 % in the EU-28 between 2011 and 2012. There was a reduction in the volume of sheep and goat production (-2.2 %), cattle production (-2.1 %) and pig production (-1.8 %), although poultry production rose by 2.6 %. There was little change in the volume of milk production in the EU-28 in 2012 (+0.3 %), while there was a reduction of 1.6 % in the volume of egg production.

The sharpest increases in the real value of crop products between 2011 and 2012 were recorded for olive oil (7.3 %), fresh vegetables (3.6 %) and cereals (2.9 %). The highest increases among animal products were recorded for eggs (28.3 %), pig (7.7 %) and cattle production (6.2 %). The marked increase in the real value of eggs between 2011 and 2012 resulted from a spike in prices during the spring of 2012 when eggs were in short supply.


The main statistical findings (below) concentrate on EU-27 rather than EU-28 because the latest data available refer to 2012, when Croatia was not yet a Member State and not yet bound by the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

Agricultural income

Introduction

Indicator A is the real net value added at factor cost of agriculture per annual work unit (AWU). The net value added at factor cost(factor income) is calculated by subtracting the consumption of fixed capital from at basic prices and adding the value of (other) subsidies less taxes on production. The AWU is defined as the work volume corresponding to one full-time worker.

Output of the agricultural industry comprises output from agricultural production and output from non-agricultural secondary activities that are inseparable from the main agricultural activity.

The comparability of data over time is affected by types of subsidies, as product related subsidies are included in the results in basic prices, while general subsidies are only included in the income. The shift in types of subsidies from product to production was mainly implemented in 2005 and 2006.

The comparability of factor income and the indicator A is not affected by these changes.

Long-term trends

The agricultural income in the EU-27 has faced positive and negative developments in the last years. When compared to 2005 the agricultural income per annual work unit was increasing with more than 10% in 2010, 2011 and 2012. For 2012, the recent increase brings Indicator A to a level of 128.5 (2005 = 100), following a rise of 28.4%-% in 2011. For the EU-15 the level of Indicator A becomes higher in 2012 than in 2005 (+17.9%), after reaching 114.0% last year.

Based on the second estimates figures provided by the Member States, the indicator A in 2012 has different developments among countries when compared to 2005. Based on this, the Member States can be divided into two groups:

• The first group includes those countries for which agricultural income in 2012 is above the level recorded for 2005. This group comprises twenty-two Member States. In fifteen of these countries, the level of agricultural income attained in 2012 is more than 20 index points higher than in 2005 varying from +119.4% in Estonia to +28.5% in Sweden.

• The second group includes the other five Member States where agricultural income in 2012 is below the level recorded for 2005. This group comprises Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta, Ireland and Italy. In these countries, the decrease of indicator A varied between -30.7% in Cyprus and -7.4% in Italy.

Recent trends

According to the latest information collected by Eurostat, indicator A is estimated to have remained stable in the European Union (EU-27) in 2012, compared with previous year.

Agricultural income per work unit developed differently across the Member States of the EU-27. In 2012, the largest increases were seen in Belgium (+27.9%), Latvia (+21%) and Lithuania (+17.6%). The Netherlands, Germany and Estonia also showed increases of over 14%.The steepest decreases, on the other hand, were seen in Romania (-27.1%), Poland (-13.7%) and Slovenia (-12.2%). Hungary, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Austria also recorded marked decreases (steeper than -7.5%).

The value of the output of agricultural goods at basic prices increased by 1.9% in 2012 compared with 2011. This small increase was driven by a decrease in volume (-3.2%) and an increase of 6.9% in the output prices of agricultural goods. The value of crop output at basic prices, which accounted for 52.2% of the total output,remained at almost the same level. On the other hand, animal output, at around 40% of total output, recorded a rise of 3.2%.

Agricultural services increased slightly (+0.7%) while secondary activities decreased (-1.2%)

In 2012, at the EU level, the value of intermediate consumption increased by 1.8% in real terms compared with 2011, due to a combination of higher prices (+3.3%) partially offset by a decrease in volume (-1.5%),according to the second estimates. As regards the components of intermediate consumption, values for most items rose moderately: financial intermediation services indirectly measured (+4.5%); feedingstuffs (+3.3%); energy and lubricants (+3.2%) and plant protection products (+1.9%). The only declines compared with the previous year were observed in the values of seeds and planting stocks (-1.9%) and veterinary expenses (-1.1%).

Consumption of fixed capital (‘depreciation’) was up (+1.1 %) than in 2011. The value of overall subsidies (product-specific subsidies and other subsidies on production) was worth more than EUR 55.5 billion in 2012, accounting for around 38% of the factor income. As a consequence, real agricultural factor income, an Indicator A component, decreased by 0.2% compared to previous year. With the reduction in agricultural labour input (−0.2%), Indicator A is estimated to remain at the same level in 2012.

In 2012, the gross value added (GVA) at producer prices amounted more than EUR 155 billion in the EU-27. 85.3 % of this value is generated in the EU-15, although the share has declined slightly since 2000. Around 70 % of the GVA of agriculture in the EU-15 is produced by France, Italy, Spain and Germany.

The value of all agricultural subsidies (product subsidies and other production subsidies) recorded in 2012 amounted to EUR 55.5 billion in the EU-27. The share of EU-12 of the total value of subsidies paid to agricultural producers increased from 3 % to 17.3 % between 2000 and 2012.

The type of subsidies has changed over time from subsidies on product to subsidies on production. In 2000, the subsidies on product accounted for EUR 26.6 billion, while in 2012 were recorded only EUR 3.9 billion. For the same period, other subsidies on production developed from EUR 12 billion to EUR 51.6 billion.

Final output

According to the EAA, the output value at producer prices (the producer price excludes subsidies, less taxes on products) of the agricultural industry was €401 billion in 2012 for the EU-27. The new Member States contributed €62.8 billion (15.6 %) to this value. With an output value of more than €75 billion, France is the largest agricultural producer in value terms in the EU-27, followed by Germany, Italy and Spain, which each report an output value of between €42.6 and €55.7 billion.

The crop output accounts for 52.2% of the total agricultural output, while the share for the animal output was 40.1% in 2012. The remaining part is from agricultural services (4.7%) and secondary activities (2.9%). The most important agricultural products are milk (13.6%) and cereals (14.2%).

The value of crop production at producer prices in 2012 rose by 0.9%, due to a decrease in volume (-5.3%) counterbalanced by an increase in real value at producer prices (+1.3%). Output volumes of the three largest crop products went down for cereals (-7.0%), fresh vegetables (-2.6 %) and fruits (-7.1%). The sharpest increases in crop value at producer prices were recorded for olive oil (+7.7%), fresh vegetables (+3.4%) and cereals (+2.3%).

The increase in the value of animal output in 2012 (+3.2%) was the result of both, an increase of value at producer prices(+3.3%) while volume decreased slightly (-0.5%). The final result in the real value of milk production was driven by an increase in volume(+0.3%), while value at producer prices went down by 4.4%. On animal output side increase in value at basic prices were observed for poultry with 2.6% increase in volume. The value of pig production rose by 7.8% while volume went down by 1.8%. The increase of value of cattle was the result of both an increase in output values(6.1%) and a decrease in volume(-2.1%).

Please note that the concept of producer prices in the EAA is somewhat different from agricultural price statistics (API). The price indices in EAA relate to the previous year, while API is based on the weighting structure of 2005. There are also differences in the values taken into account in the weighing scheme and the reference period.

Inputs

In the EU-27, intermediate consumption 2012 accounted for more than 61% of the output value of the agricultural industry at producer prices. In 2005 the similar percentage was around 58%. The main input from the intermediate consumption is represented by the animal feedingstuff, which accounts for 40 % of total value of intermediate consumption. Energy and lubricants make up 12 % of the total value of intermediate consumption, while the fertilizers and soil improvers are summarising 8%. The main intermediate input items for crop production are fertilisers, plant protection products and seeds and plantings, which together account for 16 % of total agricultural intermediate consumption.

The margin between output and direct related input are different for crop and animal production. The costs for seeds and plantings, fertilisers and plant protection products were 19.9% of the crop output at producer prices in 2012, while feedingstuff and veterinary costs were 63.5%. In 2005 the shares were 19.4% and 53.7%, respectively.

Agricultural labour input

Agricultural labour input (ALI) is the second component in calculating Indicator A after factor income. The data presented here are somewhat different from the Farm Structure Survey data. AWU data from ALI statistics are usually higher than FSS data, because they also cover the labour input of agricultural units below the threshold of FSS and agricultural work used for agricultural services, inseparable secondary activities and hunting.

In total the agricultural labour input in EU 2012 was 10.13 million AWU. The total agricultural labour input is almost divided equally between EU-15 and EU-12 while more than 82% of the total agricultural Gross Value Added is generated in EU-15. Consequently, the relation between GVA and labour input is different when comparing EU-15 with EU-12.

Over the period 2000 to 2012, agricultural labour input fell around by 32.2 % in the EU-27. The rate of change was more steep in the EU-12 (-40 %) than in other parts of the EU.

In 2012, the agricultural labour input decreased slightly in thirteen Member States compared with the previous year; it remained almost stable in eight and increased in six. The steepest declines were seen in Slovakia (-5.7%), Sweden (-4.7%) and Finland and the Netherlands (-3.3%).

Overall, EU-27, agricultural labour input remained at the same level in 2012 compared with 2011 (-0.2%).

Prices indices

The final data for 2012 reveal that the level of agricultural prices for crop output in real terms was 18.5% higher than in 2005, while the prices for animal output were up by 9.7 %.

The output price indices of agricultural goods for the European Union (EU-27) went up by 35.9 % in nominal terms compared to 2005. When adjusted to inflation (using the Harmonised Consumer Price Index HCPI), this represent an increase of only 14.1 %.

Only two of the 27 Member States – namely Spain (-12.1%) and Portugal (-7.8%) – reported a decrease in the real crop output price index. All the other countries registered increases, with eighteen Member States seeing the biggest increases exceeding 20%. These increases ranged from 65.3% in Hungary to 21.5% in Finland. The animal output real price index increased in eighteen Member States. The highest increases were observed in the United Kingdom (32.4%), Ireland with 20.7%, Poland with 15.3% and Finland with 15.1%, while the increase for the other countries was between 13% in Denmark and 1.6% in Slovenia. Among the 10 Member States who registered a decrease in animal output price index, steepest ones were recorded for Slovakia (-20.2%), Czech Republic (-13.9%), Estonia (-11.6%) and Latvia (-11.2%).

The real price indices of agricultural output developed differently across Member States. The available data show that three countries registered a decrease in 2012 compared to 2005. The steepest decreases were recorded in Spain (-6.0 %), Portugal (-2.4 %) and Greece (-2.0 %) Among the other 24 Member States that registered increases, the highest were in the United Kingdom with 41.5 % followed by Hungary with 39.2 %, Romania with 27.2 % and Poland with 22.5 %.

The data available for EU – 27 in 2012 show a 16.4 % increase in the deflated price index of the means of agricultural production compared to 2005.

Of the 27 Member States, only three, i.e. Cyprus (-7.1%), Slovakia (-1.5%) and the Czech Republic (-1.2%) registered a change for the worse compared to 2005. The other 24 countries, by contrast, recorded positive rates of change, ranging from 25.2 % in United Kingdom to 0.6 % in Estonia.

Data sources and availability

Economic accounts for agriculture (EAA) provide an insight into:

  • the economic viability of agriculture;
  • agriculture’s contribution to each EU Member State’s wealth;
  • the structure and composition of agricultural production and inputs;
  • the remuneration of factors of production;
  • relationships between prices and quantities of both inputs and outputs.

These accounts comprise a production account, a generation of income account, an entrepreneurial income account and some elements of a capital account. For the production items, EU Member States transmit to Eurostat values at basic prices, as well as their components (values at producer prices, subsidies on products, and taxes on products). The data for the production account and for gross fixed capital formation are transmitted in both current prices and the prices of the previous year.

The output of agricultural activity includes output sold (including trade in agricultural goods and services between agricultural units), changes in stocks, output for own final use (own final consumption and own-account gross fixed capital formation), output produced for further processing by agricultural producers, as well as intra-unit consumption of livestock feed products. The output of the agricultural sector is made up of the sum of the output of agricultural products and of the goods and services produced in inseparable non-agricultural secondary activities; animal and crop output are the main product categories of agricultural output.

Gross value added equals the value of output less the value of intermediate consumption and is shown in producer prices (the producer price excludes subsidies less taxes on products). Intermediate consumption represents the value of all goods and services used as inputs in the production process, excluding fixed assets whose consumption is recorded as fixed capital consumption. The EU Member States transmit information on intermediate consumption to Eurostat using values at purchaser prices (basic prices).

Eurostat also collects annual agricultural prices (in principle net of VAT) to compare agricultural price levels between EU Member States and to study sales channels. Quarterly and annual price indices for agricultural products and the means of agricultural production, on the other hand, are used principally to analyse price developments and their effect on agricultural income. Agricultural price indices are obtained by a base-weighted Laspeyres calculation (2005=100), and are expressed in nominal terms or as deflated indices based on the use of an implicit consumer prices (HICP) deflator.

Agricultural income indicators are presented in the form of:

  • an index of real income of factors in agricultural activity per annual work unit (indicator A);
  • an index of real net agricultural entrepreneurial income, per unpaid annual work unit (indicator B);
  • and the net entrepreneurial income of agriculture (indicator C).

The information presented in this article for indicator A (as found in Table 1) relates to prices of the previous year - in other words, an example value of 107.1 represents a 7.1 % increase (based on the prices of the previous year).

Context

The EAA is a satellite account of the European System of Accounts (ESA 1995). It covers the agricultural products and services produced over the accounting period sold by agricultural units, held in stocks on farms, or used for further processing by agricultural producers. The concepts of the EAA are adapted to the particular nature of the agricultural industry: for example, the EAA includes not only the production of grapes and olives but also the production of wine and olive oil by agricultural producers. It includes information on intra-unit consumption of crop products used in animal feed, as well as output accounted for by own-account production of fixed capital goods and own final consumption of agricultural units. EAA data are used to calculate income indicators for the agricultural sector.

Agricultural price statistics provide information on the trend in producer prices of agricultural products and purchase prices of the goods and services consumed by agriculture in the production process. Data on prices are available for single commodities and for larger aggregates in the form of absolute prices and price indices. Both annual and quarterly time series are published in the free dissemination database on the Eurostat website.

Further Eurostat information

Data visualisation

Publications

Main tables

Economic accounts for agriculture (t_aact)
Agricultural prices and price indices (t_apri)

Database

Economic accounts for agriculture (aact)
Economic Accounts for Agriculture (aact_eaa)
Agricultural Labour Input Statistics (aact_ali)
Unit value statistics for agricultural products (aact_uv)
Agricultural prices and price indices (apri)
Agricultural prices and price indices (apri)
Selling prices of agricultural products (absolute prices), land prices and rents (apri_ap)
Price indices of agricultural products (apri_pi)

Dedicated section

Methodology / Metadata

Source data for tables, figures and maps (MS Excel)

Other information

External links

See also

Notes


[[Category:<Agriculture>|Agricultural accounts and prices]] [[Category:<Statistical_article>|Agricultural accounts and prices]]

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