Archive:Enlargement countries - agriculture, forestry and fisheries statistics
- Data from September 2013. Most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database.
This article is part of an online publication based on the ‘Key figures on the enlargement countries – 2014 edition’ pocketbook and provides a description of agriculture in the enlargement countries and in the European Union (EU). It focuses on many aspects of agriculture such as land use, selected agricultural production, livestock population and slaughtered production, as well as employment and the gross value added of the agricultural sector in the enlargement countries.
Source: for the EU aggregates, Eurostat (apro_cpp_luse) and (for_area); for the enlargement countries, Eurostat (cpc_agmain)
Source: for the EU aggregates, Eurostat (apro_cpp_luse); for the enlargement countries, Eurostat (cpc_agmain)
Source: for the EU aggregates, Eurostat (apro_cpp_crop) and (apro_mk_farm); for the enlargement countries, Eurostat (cpc_agmain)
Source: for the EU aggregates, Eurostat (apro_mt_lscatl), (apro_mt_lspig), (apro_mt_lssheep) and (apro_mt_lsgoat); for the enlargement countries, Eurostat (cpc_agmain)
Source: for the EU aggregates, Eurostat (apro_mt_pann); for the enlargement countries, Eurostat (cpc_agmain)
Source: for the EU aggregates, Eurostat (lfsa_egan2) and (lfsa_egana); for the enlargement countries, Eurostat (cpc_ecnabrk)
Source: for the EU aggregates, Eurostat (nama_nace10_c); for the enlargement countries, Eurostat (cpc_ecnabrk)
Main statistical findings
Utilised agricultural area (UAA): decreasing trend in the EU, mixed picture in the enlargement countries
The utilised agricultural area (UAA) of the EU amounted to around 177 million hectares in 2012, around three and a half times the size of the combined total for the enlargement countries (see Table 1). The UAA as a proportion of the total territorial area decreased in the EU between 2002 and 2012 (from nearly 43 % to 40 %); in the enlargement countries, the tendencies varied: while the UAA remained stable in Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Iceland, it decreased in Turkey and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (see Figure 2). In contrast, an increase was registered in Albania. The highest proportion of utilised agricultural area, by a considerable margin both in 2002 and in 2012, was registered in Serbia where it accounted for 65 % of the total land area.
Across the EU as a whole, arable land accounted for 60 % of the UAA in 2011 (the latest available information). This share was exceeded by Serbia (65 % in 2012). Permanent grassland, on the other hand, accounted for 98 % in Iceland in 2012, which can be explained by the particular climatic conditions of that country; this proportion exceeded by far those of the other enlargement countries where it ranged between 29 % and 64 %. In Iceland, comparatively low temperatures, which may fluctuate by 10 to 20°C within a day, considerably limit the growing potential for a range of crops. Icelandic agriculture is therefore largely animal based. Land under permanent crop constituted by far the smallest share of the UAA, both in the EU and in the various enlargement countries (shares of well under 10 %, with the exception of Montenegro where the share amounted to nearly 28 %).
Turkey was the largest cereal producer among the enlargement countries
Comparing the 2002 and 2012 EU cereal production figures does not reveal any major changes (see Table 3). This, however, masks fluctuating volumes, with peaks of close to 325 million tonnes in 2004 and 315 million tonnes in 2008. Among the enlargement countries, Turkey is clearly the largest cereal producer, with 33.4 million tonnes in 2012. Turkey’s cereal production has remained fairly constant over time. Especially noticeable is cereal production in Albania, which gradually increased (except for a drop in 2007) by nearly 35 % after 2002, reaching 701 thousand tonnes in 2011 (the latest available data). The far higher relative increases registered for Montenegro and Iceland should be seen in the light of very low production volumes in 2002. Other than that, sugar beet production showed more diverse situations: the production volume of this vegetable in the EU declined (-8.1 % comparing 2001 and 2011); Turkey and Serbia appear to be the only sugar beet producers among the enlargement countries, and between 2002 and 2012 beet production in Turkey fluctuated from 16.5 million to 15 million tonnes. In 2012, 15 million tonnes were reported. In Serbia, a general upward trend was noted. The 2.3 million tonnes of sugar beet harvested in 2012 insufficiently reflect the fact that production over the past decade frequently exceeded 3 million tonnes. In the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, sugar beet production fell to zero by 2008, whereas in 2002 and in 2005, 44 thousand tonnes and 58 thousand tonnes, respectively, were still harvested. Furthermore, milk production (which may include milk production other than cows’ milk) increased in almost all the enlargement countries for which data are available, except in Montenegro and Serbia where a declining tendency was registered. In the EU, cows’ milk production remained fairly constant between 2001 and 2012. The nearly 157 million tonnes reported in 2012 constituted a 4 % increase compared to 2001; between these years, production remained stable at around 148 million tonnes.
Climatic and cultural peculiarities of the enlargement countries are reflected in their livestock production and slaughtering
Cultural peculiarities are reflected in livestock production: in Turkey for instance, pig production is extremely limited (see Table 4). Iceland, with merely 320 thousand inhabitants, registered more than ten times more pigs in 2012 than Turkey (with a population close to 75 million). Furthermore, the number of sheep and goats in Iceland must be considered as quite impressive (in relation to the country’s population): these animals are highly adaptable to the harsh Icelandic environments. Pig herds of just over 3 million heads were recorded in Serbia in 2012, where a peak was noted in 2006 (close to 4 million heads) but numbers have been declining ever since. The number of sheep and goats in Turkey increased compared to 2002 and amounted to almost 36 thousand heads in 2012, which corresponded to more than a third of the total population of those animals registered in the EU in 2010. In the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the number of sheep and goats decreased rapidly from 2006 onwards and amounted to nearly 800 thousand heads in 2012 (-35 % compared to the year 2002). Finally, the number of cattle declined quite rapidly in Montenegro, whereas a more gradual decrease was reported by Albania. Conversely, an increasing trend was noted for Turkey.
Looking at animal slaughter in 2012 (see Figure 5), pig meat accounted for nearly 52 % of total meat production in the EU (2011 data), a proportion similar to that recorded for the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (52 %) and exceeded only by Serbia (58 %). Poultry was the most important category in Turkey (66 %; data for pigs slaughter are not available but can reasonably be considered as extremely low) and in Bosnia and Herzegovina (54 %). Sheep constituted the highest proportion in animal slaughter in Iceland (36 %).
The agricultural sector remains significant in terms of employment and gross value added in most enlargement countries
Employment in agriculture in the EU-28 was by far the least important among the three sectors, with a share of 5.0 % of the total labour force (see Table 6). Iceland and Montenegro also recorded low shares that year (5.5 % and 5.7 % respectively). In contrast, 51.1 % (estimated) of Albania’s labour force was employed in agriculture in 2012, although this indicated a reduction when compared with 2002 (when the country registered a share of 57.7 %). In Turkey, agriculture accounted for nearly a quarter of the total employment, while in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina this share was slightly higher than one fifth.
The economies of the enlargement countries generated a considerably higher proportion of their Gross Value Added (GVA) from the agriculture, forestry and fishing sectors than the EU-28 (see Figure 7). In 2012, the EU-28 recorded a value of only 1.7 %, while for the enlargement countries values ranged from 7.4 % of total GVA in Bosnia and Herzegovina to 20.6 % in Albania. Still, the agriculture sector’s share in total GVA had declined by widely varying amounts in all the enlargement countries, most notably in Serbia (by around 5 percentage points between 2002 and 2012, reaching a proportion of 10 %) and Montenegro (more than 3 percentage points to reach a share of 9 % in 2012).
Data sources and availability
Data for a core set of indicators are collected each year through questionnaires sent out by Eurostat to the partner countries. A network of contacts in each country has been established for updating the questionnaires. Eurostat distributes the electronic questionnaires to a single contact point in each partner country. This contact point is in charge of the onward distribution of the questionnaires to the various thematic coordinators in each country's statistical system (generally within the National Statistical Office) and of their collection afterwards. When completed, the validated and updated questionnaires are sent back to Eurostat.
The overall framework of enlargement policy and international statistical cooperation is explained here.
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. The development of statistics on agriculture then followed the evolution of the common agricultural policy and its new objectives through a larger scope of the statistical data collection at EU level and the development of new indicators.
Agriculture is a complex, sensitive and critical issue in enlargement preparations and the candidate countries have to align their agricultural policy with the common agricultural policy (CAP) to be fully integrated from the day of accession.
See also
- All articles on Agriculture
- International statistical cooperation - online publication
- Enlargement countries - statistical overview - online publication
Further Eurostat information
Publications
- Key figures on the enlargement countries – 2014 edition
- Key figures on the enlargement countries – 2013 edition
- Enlargement countries - Agriculture - 2012 edition
Main tables
- Enlargement countries, see:
- Candidate countries and potential candidates (t_cpc)
Database
- Candidate countries and potential candidates (cpc)
- Agriculture, forestry and fisheries (cpc_ag)