Decrease in agriculture subsidies drops factor income by 0.7%

Factor income, which is the result of the developments in agricultural output, subsidies and intermediate consumption, went down by 0.7 per cent when compared to 2011, to €67.5 million. This was brought about by a sharp decrease in subsidies on production (-20.5 per cent). In 2012, entrepreneurial income (-0.8 per cent) absorbed 91.2 per cent of the total factor income. Dependence on subsidies edged up by 0.8 percentage points, from 28.8 per cent in 2011 to 29.6 per cent in 2012.

A marginal decline of 0.1 per cent was registered in the market value of gross agricultural production in 2012. Characterising this result were drops of 3.9 and 2.2 per cent in the market value of crop and livestock products respectively. This was mainly brought about by a decrease in the production of fruit and vegetables in the crops sector and a decline in the pig population in the animal husbandry sector. In contrast, the value of animal products registered an increase of 8.2 per cent, due to better prices fetched for milk and eggs.

Intermediate consumption, which measures expenditure in the production process, decreased by 0.1 per cent to €71 million. This was mainly attributable to a drop in expenditure on veterinary services (-13.4 per cent) and maintenance of buildings (-5.3 per cent). On the other hand increases of 1.7 and 1.3 per cent were registered in animal feed and energy respectively.

Total subsidies absorbed by the industry in 2012 amounted to €20 million, up by 2.1 per cent. Subsidies directly linked to production dropped by 20.5 per cent, mainly due to lower amounts received in respect of crop products. In contrast, an increase of 5 per cent, or €0.9 million, was registered in the subsidies not directly linked with production.