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Archive:Fruit, vegetable, oil and grain processing statistics - NACE Rev. 1.1

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Data from January 2009. Most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database.

This article belongs to a set of statistical articles which analyse the structure, development and characteristics of the various economic activities in the European Union (EU). The present article covers four of the smaller food processing activities, which are part of the food, beverages and tobacco sector. These four activities are:

  • fruit and vegetables, corresponding to NACE Rev 1.1 Group 15.3;
  • vegetable and animal oils and fats, corresponding to NACE Group 15.4;
  • grain mill and starch products, corresponding to NACE Group 15.6;
  • prepared animal feed, corresponding to NACE Group 15.7.

It should be noted that this article excludes the agricultural activities of growing, farming, rearing and hunting and also fishing (NACE Divisions 01 and 05). A number of products, such as olive oil, are also sold directly by agricultural holdings. As such, their weight is likely to be under-reported in this article, as part of their production is recorded as an agricultural activity.

Table 1: Fruit, vegetable, oil and grain products (NACE Groups 15.3, 15.4, 15.6 and 15.7). Structural profile, EU-27, 2006 (1)
Table 2: Fruit, vegetable, oil and grain products (NACE Groups 15.3, 15.4, 15.6 and 15.7). Structural profile: ranking of top five Member States in terms of value added and persons employed, 2006
Figure 1: Fruit, vegetable, oil and grain products (NACE Groups 15.3, 15.4, 15.6 and 15.7). Index of production, EU-27 (2000=100)
Table 3: Fruit, vegetable, oil and grain products (NACE Groups 15.3, 15.4, 15.6 and 15.7). Expenditure and productivity, EU-27, 2006

Main statistical findings

Processing and preserving of fruit and vegetables (NACE Group 15.3)

There were an estimated 10.0 thousand enterprises across the EU-27 whose main activity was the processing and preserving of fruit and vegetables, employing 280.6 thousand persons. These enterprises generated EUR 11.4 billion of value added in 2006, representing 5.8 % of the total value added generated by food, beverages and tobacco manufacturing enterprises. In terms of the relative contribution of the processing and preserving of fruit and vegetables sector to total value added in the non-financial business economy, Poland was by far the most specialised Member State[1], followed by Greece and Hungary.

The EU-27 production index for processed and preserved fruit and vegetables grew relatively strongly and steadily in the period between 2000 and 2007 (rising, on average, by 3.4 % per year). Growth was particularly strong in Poland (10.8 % per year).

The apparent labour productivity of those working in the processing and preserving of fruit and vegetables sector in 2006 was EUR 40.6 thousand per person employed, only very slightly below the average recorded across the whole of the EU-27’s food, beverages and tobacco manufacturing sector. The operating cost structure of this subsector was very similar to that for the whole of food, beverages and tobacco manufacturing (as personnel costs accounted for 13.8 % of total operating costs in both cases). Average personnel costs of EUR 24.9 thousand per employee, also meant that wage costs within the EU-27’s processing and preserving of fruit and vegetables sector closely resembled those for the whole of the food, beverages and tobacco manufacturing. Hence, there was no surprise to find that there was also little difference in wage-adjusted labour productivity ratios (162.9 % compared with an average of 163.0 %).

Vegetable and animal oils and fats (NACE Group 15.4)

The vegetable and animal oils and fats manufacturing sector was the smallest of the NACE groups within food, beverages and tobacco manufacturing (NACE Subsection DA) in 2006, both in terms of value added and employment. There were 9.1 thousand enterprises across the EU-27 that manufactured vegetable and animal oils and fats as their principal activity. These enterprises together employed 71.5 thousand persons (equivalent to 1.5 % of the food, beverages and tobacco manufacturing workforce) and generated EUR 4.0 billion of added value (2.0 % of the sectoral total). A little more than half (53.2 %) of the value added generated by vegetable and animal oils and fats manufacturing across the EU-27, came from production in Germany, Spain and Italy. However, among the Member States for which data are available [2], Greece was by far the most specialised country in the production of vegetable and animal oils and fats, as this subsector contributed over five times as much to non-financial business economy value added as the EU-27 average. Hungary was also relatively specialised (about three and a half times the average).

There were strong fluctuations in the production index for vegetable and animal oils and fats across the EU-27 in the ten years through until 2007. A relatively steep but unsteady decline through until 2004 was followed by a strong upsurge in growth thereafter. Over the period as a whole, EU-27 output declined on average by 0.3 % per year.

Average personnel costs of EUR 32.9 thousand per employee across the EU-27’s vegetable and animal oils and fats manufacturing sector in 2006 were above the average recorded for the whole of the food, beverages and tobacco manufacturing sector. Personnel costs accounted for a particularly low proportion of total operating expenditure, some 5.3 %, compared with an average share of 13.8 % across food, beverages and tobacco manufacturing, suggesting a small, but relatively well-paid workforce.

The apparent labour productivity of the EU-27’s vegetable and animal oils and fats manufacturing sector was EUR 55.8 thousand per person employed in 2006, which was almost a third (33.4 %) more than the average for food, beverages and tobacco manufacturing as a whole. When adjusted to take account of relatively high average personnel costs, much of this differential was eroded, with the wage adjusted labour productivity ratio for the vegetable and animal oils and fats manufacturing sector at 166.0 % (compared with 163.0 % for the whole of the food, beverages and tobacco manufacturing sector).

Grain mill and starch products (NACE Group 15.6)

The manufacture of grain mill and starch products was the principal activity of an estimated 8.0 thousand enterprises across the EU-27 in 2006. These enterprises employed 121.2 thousand people and generated EUR 6.6 billion of added value, the equivalent of 2.6 % of the employment and 3.4 % of the value added within the food, beverages and tobacco manufacturing sector. Almost two thirds (67.3 %) of the value added generated by grain mill and starch products manufacturing came from activities in the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy. Nevertheless, it was Hungary and Bulgaria (2005) that were the countries within the EU that were most specialised in the manufacture of grain mill and starch products; the contribution of these activities to their respective non-financial business economy value added was about two and a half times the EU-27 average.

There was an upward trend in the output of grain mill and starch products during the period between 1997 and 2007, with average growth of 0.8 % per year. However, most of this growth was founded on a relatively steep increase in output in 2000 and a more concerted period of expansion since 2004. Among the principal producers within the EU, there were contrasting trends; output levels in the United Kingdom remained little changed from year-to-year, while growth averaged 1.6 % per year in both Germany (mainly due to an expansion after 2003) and France (where the evolution of output closely followed the trend seen for the whole of the EU-27).

The share of personnel costs in the total operating expenditure of the EU-27’s grain mill and starch products manufacturing sector was lower than the average for the food, beverages and tobacco manufacturing sector (11.4 % compared with 13.8 % in 2006), despite average personnel costs of EUR 30.5 thousand per employee being almost a fifth higher than the sectoral average.

The apparent labour productivity of those working in the EU-27’s grain mill and starch products manufacturing sector was EUR 54.8 thousand per person employed in 2006, about one third higher than the average across the whole of the food, beverages and tobacco manufacturing sector. The resultant wage adjusted labour productivity ratio of 179.6 % for the grain mill and starch products manufacturing sector in 2006, was the highest among the EU-27’s food manufacturing activities.

Prepared animal feed (NACE Group 15.7)

The manufacture of animal feed was the principal activity of 5.2 thousand enterprises throughout the EU-27 in 2006. These enterprises employed an estimated 130.0 thousand people in 2006 and generated an estimated EUR 7.0 billion of value added in 2005 (the equivalent of 3.5 % of the total value added generated across food, beverages and tobacco manufacturing). Animal feed manufacturing in France accounted for one fifth (20.1 %) of all of the value added generated across the EU-27 in 2005, the largest contribution among the Member States, ahead of the United Kingdom (14.2 %) and Germany (14.1 %). Nevertheless, Poland, Lithuania and Hungary were the Member States that were most specialised in the manufacture of animal feed, as these activities contributed about two and a half times more than the EU-27 average to the total value added generated within their respective non-financial business economies.

During the ten years through until 2007, there was almost no change in the level of output of animal feed in the EU-27 (growth average 0.4 % per year). Among the Member States, growth was particularly strong in Poland (averaging 11.1 % per year), which was in marked contrast to a declining index of production in France (particularly from 2001 onwards).

The apparent labour productivity of the EU-27’s animal feed sector was EUR 55.0 thousand per person employed in 2005, about one third more than the corresponding average for the food, beverages and tobacco manufacturing sector. However, with average personnel costs in animal feed manufacturing also higher than the sectoral average at EUR 33.3 thousand per employee in 2006, these two relatively high ratios cancelled each other out, such that the resulting wage adjusted labour productivity ratio stood at 165.0 % in 2005, almost identical to the average for the food, beverages and tobacco manufacturing sector. This relative parity in wage adjusted labour productivity ratios at the level of the EU-27 was also observed in France, the leading producer among the Member States.

Data sources and availability

The main part of the analysis in this article is derived from structural business statistics (SBS), including core, business statistics which are disseminated regularly, as well as information compiled on a multi-yearly basis, and the latest results from development projects.

Other data sources include short-term statistics (STS).

Context

The food, beverages and tobacco manufacturing sector in the EU is comprised of a relatively small number of enterprises that have a considerable global market presence, which operate alongside a high number of relatively small enterprises that serve more local, regional and national markets.

As these enterprises not only produce goods for final consumption but also intermediate products for other manufacturing activities, they are affected by a broad scope of legislation. The main legislative areas affecting the EU’s food, beverages and tobacco manufacturing sector, however, tend to involve international trade agreements, or food and feed legislation. As a majority of the EU’s agricultural production is processed by the food, beverages and tobacco manufacturing sector, developments in Common agricultural policy and associated Common Market Organisations can have important implications for costs and processes in the food chain. Regarding food legislation, the European Parliament and the Council proposed an update of the laws regarding the provision of information to consumers(COM(2008) 40 final) in 2008, in order to clarify and consolidate existing regulations. In part, this proposal was built on a 2007 White Paper covering a Strategy for Europe on Nutrition, Overweight and Obesity (COM(2007) 279 final), which stressed the need for consumers to have access to clear, consistent and evidence-based nutritional information.

For the varied food processing activities covered in this article, there are a number of relevant policy developments. Regarding prepared animal feed, the European Commission recently proposed a simplification to the rules regarding the placing on the market and use of feed in March 2008 (COM(2008) 124 final), in an attempt to increase the competitiveness of the EU’s feed and farming sectors, whilst maintaining a high level of animal health protection. Regarding fruit and vegetables, the reform of the Common market organisation (CMO) for the fruit and vegetables sector was adopted in two stages at the end of 2007; among other objectives, it aims to encourage a higher level of consumption. Natural fats and vegetable oils are used not only in food and feed (for which there are regulations on levels of erucic acid) but also in a number of other manufactured products (such as soaps, paints, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals). The push to use more oils and fats as a biofuel has, therefore, had important implications for many manufacturing sectors.

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Notes

  1. ↑ Bulgaria, Cyprus, Poland and Romania, 2005; Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands and Slovakia, not available.
  2. ↑ Bulgaria, Cyprus, Poland and Romania, 2005; Estonia, France, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta and the Netherlands, not available.
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