asked the Minister for Agriculture and Food if he will outline the farm income trends in each member state of the EC in (a) 1987 and (b) 1988; and the way in which these compare with the corresponding figures for each country in (i) 1985 and (ii) 1986.
Written Answers. - Farm Income Trends.
29.
The most recent CSO estimates of income from self-employment and other trading income in agriculture shows increases of 17.5 per cent in 1988 and 19.6 per cent in 1987, and decreases of 6.5 per cent in 1986 and 10.2 per cent in 1985. These figures do not allow for interest payable by agriculture. They are expressed in nominal or current terms and do not take account of changes in inflation rates.
I am circulating in a table with the Official Report the most up-to-date comparable figures on farm income trends in the different member states of the European Community. These figures are calculated on the basis of indices of real (adjusted for inflation) net income from agricultural activity per annual work unit of family labour input. These are obtained from the 1988 Eurostat publication Agricultural Incomes. They take into account interest payable by agriculture.
As can clearly be seen from the table, farmers in Ireland have enjoyed very substantial increases in their incomes over the last two years. They experienced by far the highest level of increase in 1987 and the second highest level of increase in 1988. These substantial increases in Ireland more than offset the significant declines experienced in 1985 and 1986. The final column in the table shows index figures for farm income in each member state on the basis of a three year average centred on 1980. In 1988, farm incomes in real terms in Ireland were 183.3 per cent of the level at the beginning of the decade. This is a substantially more favourable position than that of the other member states, except Denmark.
Growth Rates of Real Net Income from Agricultural Activity per Annual Work Unit (AWU) of Family Labour.
|
“1980”=100 |
|||||
|
1985 |
1986 |
1987 |
1988 |
1988 |
|
|
Belgium |
- 7.1 |
- 0.2 |
- 6.2 |
8.5 |
113.2 |
|
Denmark |
- 7.1 |
- 7.7 |
- 42.1 |
- 11.1 |
184.2 |
|
Germany |
- 23.0 |
25.4 |
- 26.5 |
29.0 |
104.4 |
|
Greece |
3.9 |
- 4.1 |
4.7 |
9.5 |
126.2 |
|
France |
- 0.8 |
- 2.1 |
- 1.8 |
- 3.8 |
91.9 |
|
Ireland |
- 9.2 |
10.0 |
26.4 |
21.1 |
183.3 |
|
Italy |
- 2.7 |
0.1 |
- 0.4 |
- 6.3 |
79.4 |
|
Luxembourg |
1.1 |
5.4 |
- 0.6 |
4.7 |
154.0 |
|
Netherlands |
- 6.9 |
10.0 |
7.6 |
1.5 |
134.2 |
|
United Kingdom |
- 39.0 |
22.0 |
- 1.1 |
- 20.5 |
74.2 |
|
Eur. 10 |
- 8.2 |
3.5 |
- 4.8 |
0.8 |
98.0 |
|
Spain |
2.0 |
- 5.5 |
9.8 |
13.8 |
162.0 |
|
Eur. 11 |
- 6.9 |
2.4 |
- 3.1 |
2.5 |
105.7 |