Agricultural Income in 2014 - First Forecasts

The agricultural year 2014 is marked by an increase of production volumes and a price drop. These evolutions are particularly strong for the arable cultures and more moderated for the cattle. Only milk and wines benefit from both higher volumes and prices. All in all, the value of the agricultural production, including subsidies, decreases in 0,9 % compared with 2013. At the same time, farms expenses are reduced further, mainly due to lower prices of animal feed and fertilizer. So, the added value of the agricultural industry would increase slightly. Furthermore agricultural employment would continue to decline. According to provisional estimates account of agriculture, agricultural factor income per labour unit would increase by 1% in real terms in 2014, after a sharp decline in 2013 and three years with record levels. This evolution results from large disparities depending on the orientations of the farms.