The value of Ireland’s agricultural output experienced the second fastest growth in 2017 of all the countries in the EU, according to the latest figures released by the European Commission.
The total agricultural output in Ireland was worth €8.4 billion, an increase of 13.6% compared to that of 2016.
EU Agriculture Output
The highest increase was recorded in Estonia (+18.2%), ahead of Ireland, Romania (+13.2%), and the UK (+12.6%), with the strongest declines seen in Slovenia (-4.7%) and Malta (-3.1%).
The total agricultural output in the European Union (EU) stood at €432.6 billion in 2017, up by 6.2% compared with 2016.
Ireland, however, was off the pace at the top as the countries with the highest total agricultural output among the EU Member States were France (€72.6 billion, 17% of the EU Total), Germany (€56.2 billion, or 13%), Italy (€55.1 billion, or 13%), Spain (€50.6 billion, or 12%), the United Kingdom (€31.8 billion, or 7%).
The report found that the 6.2% increase in EU agricultural output in 2017 can be ‘largely attributed to an increase in the value of animal output, up 10.3%, itself largely reflecting an increase in prices, which was also up 10.3%’.
© 2018 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Aidan O’Sullivan. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
