French pig farmers’ incomes dropped in 2011

French pig farmers’ incomes dropped by €4,000 in 2011 from the year before, Bloomberg reports.

Pig farmer income fell to an average €32,600 last year from €36,500 as poultry breeders’ earnings rose to an average €33,900 from €29,900, according to the report.

French farm income rose 3.8% in 2011 as wine and dairy producers got higher prices and increased output, even as earnings for grain growers fell after a spring drought, the French Agriculture Ministry said.

Average
Average pretax operating income per farmer climbed to €32,500 (US$40,729) from €31,300 in 2010, the ministry’s statistical department Agreste said in a report on its website yesterday. The ministry in December had predicted lower income.

France is the European Union’s largest farm producer, with agricultural output last year of €68.1 billion at basic prices, or 18% of the 27-nation bloc’s production, according to the EU’s statistics agency.

“The average revenue of agricultural business improves in half of the regions, essentially those dominated by wine and dairy farming,” Agreste said.

Farm income exceeded the €30,200 forecast by the ministry in December, as vineyard earnings rose more than expected and income from commodity crops and raising beef cattle and pigs fell less than predicted.

Crops
Earnings for producers of commodity crops including grains, oilseeds and sugar beets slid to an average €41,700 per farmer from €48,200, Agreste said.

“The spring drought of 2011 punished the cereal yields,” the department said. “Increased expenses for fertiliser combined with the decline of production volumes leads to the fall in income for commodity-crop regions.”

The average holder of dairy cows saw pretax earnings climb to €29,900 from €26,000, while earnings for beef cattle producers slipped to €15,400 from €15,900, the report showed.

Source: Bloomberg

Related website:
• French Ministry of Agriculture and Fishing