Farmer confidence plummets across EU

Farmer confidence has nosed-dived across the EU, rocked by falling farmgate prices, the Russian import ban and poor weather.

Ten EU member states reported that the confidence of their farmers had fallen sharply between September and November, after 18 months of improved mood.

See also: Farm incomes suffer across the EU

Confidence for the future was also at a low ebb in nine of the states – UK, Belgium, Germany, France, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania and Sweden. Italian farmers were the only ones to feel an improved confidence for the future.

The results were compiled by European farming union, Copa-Cogeca, using information from national surveys, covering 6,600 farmers and growers.