Agricultural output of the EU down by 1% in 2020

In 2020, the economic accounts for agriculture show that total agricultural output in the EU stood at €414,1 billion in basic prices, down by 1.1% compared with 2019. This information comes from final 2020 estimates on the agriculture sector published recently by Eurostat. The article presents a handful of findings from the more detailed Statistics Explained article.

With €76.3 bn (or about 18.4% of the EU total) in 2020, France had the highest total agricultural output among the Member States, followed by Germany (€57.6 bn, or 13.9%), Italy (€56.9 bn, or also 13.7%), Spain (€52.3 bn, or 12.6%), the Netherlands (€28.2 bn, or 6.8%) and Poland (€26.4 bn, or 6.4%).

In 2020, 11 out of 27 EU Member States registered a decrease in the value of agricultural output. The biggest declines were recorded in Romania (-11.3%), Malta and Bulgaria (both -4.5%), Finland (-3.9%), Hungary and the Netherlands (both -3.1%). In contrast, the highest increases, in relative terms, were registered in Lithuania (+8.6%), Ireland (+4.6%), Slovakia (+3.8%), Latvia (3.1%), and Cyprus (2.8%).

Among the Member States with the largest agricultural industry, the value of total agricultural output decreased by 2.3% in Italy, 1.9% in France, and 1.6% in Germany, while it increased by 1.1% in Spain.

The value of both EU’s crop and animal output registered decreases of 1.0% and 1.1%, respectively.

When it comes to EU agricultural input costs (intermediate consumption), there was a slight decrease of 1.1%, as compared to the previous year, which resulted in a stronger rate of decline ( 1.3%) in the gross value added generated by agriculture.

For more information:

• The value of agricultural output comprises the values of crop production, animal production, and “other items” i.e. agricultural services (for example, the processing of agricultural products, or agricultural contract work) and it is inseparable non-agricultural secondary activities (for example, certain agritourism activities).
• Values at basic prices are values at producer prices from which taxes on products have been subtracted and subsidies on products have been added. Unless otherwise stated, all values are calculated using current prices and exchange rates.
• Statistics Explained article on the performance of the agricultural sector
• Dedicated section on agricultural statistics
• Database on agriculture
• All publications on agriculture