The decrease of real agricultural income per worker in 2014 is the result of a fall in real agricultural income (-4.0%), partly compensated by a reduction in agricultural labour input (-2.3%). The decrease in EU28 real agricultural income is mainly the result of a fall in the value of crop output (-6.0%) and animal output (-0.9%), combined with a decrease in real terms for input costs (-3.6%).
Largest increase of real agricultural income per worker in Slovenia, largest decline in Finland
Compared with the previous year, real agricultural income per worker in 2014 is estimated to have risen in eight Member States and fallen in twenty. The highest increases are expected in Slovenia (+13.3%), Hungary (+9.1%), the Czech Republic (+7.2%) and the United Kingdom (+6.9%), and the largest decreases in Finland (-22.8%), Lithuania (-19.4%), Belgium (-15.2%), Italy (-11.0%), Estonia (-10.9%) and Denmark (-10.1%). Compared with 2005, real agricultural income per worker in 2014 has risen in 19 Member States, albeit in different proportions, and remained almost stable in 3, while falls were recorded in Luxembourg, Malta, Ireland, Finland, Croatia and Belgium.
Largest falls in prices for potatoes, oilseeds and cereals
Compared with 2013, the value of EU28 agricultural output at producer prices in 2014 is estimated to have decreased by 3.4%, mainly due to a marked fall in real terms in the value of crop production (-6.0%) and a smaller decrease in the value of animal output (-0.9%). The fall in the value of crop production is due to a significant decrease in prices (-9.5%), partly counterbalanced by an increase in volume (+3.8%). Prices declined for potatoes (-24.5%) oilseeds (-14.7%), cereals (-13.9%), sugar beet (-11.6%), fruits (-10.7%), olive oil (-8.2%), fresh vegetables (-6.5%), wine (-4.0%) and plants & flowers (-0.5%). Volumes rose for olive oil (+46.4%), oilseeds (+8.2%), sugar beet (+6.9%), cereals (+5.9%), potatoes (+5.5%), fresh vegetables (+1.9%) and fruits (+0.4%), but fell for plants & flowers (-0.4%) and wine (-2.6%).
The decrease in the value of animal production is due to a fall in prices (-2.8%), partly counterbalanced by an increase in volume (+1.9%). Prices fell for pigs (-6.1%), cattle (-5.2%), eggs (-5.0%) and poultry (-4.3%) but rose for milk and sheep & goats (both +1.2%). Volumes rose for milk (+3.6%), poultry (+3.0%), cattle (+1.5%) and pigs (+0.6%), while they fell for eggs (-0.8%) and sheep & goats (-1.1%). EU28 agricultural input costs (intermediate consumption) are estimated to have decreased in real terms (-3.6%), mainly due to significant reductions for feedingstuffs (-8.1%), fertilisers & soil improvers (-6.4%) and energy & lubricants (-3.9%).
1. Agricultural income comprises the income generated by agricultural activities (as well as inseparable non-agricultural, secondary activities) over a given accounting period (i.e. the calendar year 2014), even though in certain cases the corresponding revenues will not be received until a later date. It does not, therefore, constitute the income effectively received in the course of the accounting period itself. Moreover, it must not be confused with the total income of farming households as it does not comprise income from other sources (non-agricultural activities, salaries, social benefits, income from property). The present estimates have been compiled by the national authorities in the Member States of the European Union in accordance with the methodology of the Economic Accounts for Agriculture (Regulation (EC) No 138/2004), which is close to the methodology of the national accounts but incorporates a number of changes to take account of the special features of the agricultural economy. The real income of factors in agriculture, per annual work unit, corresponds to the real net value added at factor cost of agriculture, per total annual work unit. Net value added at factor cost is calculated by subtracting from the value of agricultural output at basic prices the value of intermediate consumption, the consumption of fixed capital and production taxes, and adding the value of production subsidies. All value and price data in this New Release are presented in real terms, i.e. adjusted using the implicit deflators in Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The deflators for 2014 are provisional. In order to take account of part-time and seasonal work, agricultural labour input or changes therein are measured in annual work units (AWUs). In this News Release one AWU is defined as the work-time equivalent of a full-time worker.
2. These data, based on first estimates provided by the Member States plus Norway and Switzerland are provisional. In March 2015, Eurostat will publish a revised second set of estimates. More information on first estimates 2014 can be found in the following document.
