DEFRA includes impact of oil prices in its annual review of UK agriculture

DEFRA has published its annual report on the status of agriculture in the UK for 2006.  In addition to the routine inclusions, such as key events during the year and finalised data on the Total Income From Farming, the report also includes an assessment of the impact on agriculture from high oil prices.

The Chapter, entitled Intermediate consumption presents long-term trends in crude oil prices and intermediate consumption e.g. fuels, feed, seeds etc and demonstrates how key inputs, such as fuels, electricity and fertiliser are closely linked to the oil price.

The report Agriculture in the United Kingdom 2006, is the most authoritative statistical release on agriculture produced by government, providing a statistical overview of important developments in agriculture in the United Kingdom.

Other report contents include information on farm structure, prices, crop and animal production, costs, the food chain, overseas trade and other agricultural issues.

Headline statistics for 2006 include:

• Total Income from Farming rose by 7% in real terms to £2.7 billion

• agriculture contributed £5.6bn to the national economy

• the area of agricultural land was 19m hectares  (47m acres), about 77% of the total land area in the United Kingdom

• the average producer price of agricultural products rose by 4% while the average price of agricultural inputs rose by 3.5%

• in real terms, average net farm income for all types of farm in the United Kingdom is expected to be around £20,600 in 2006/07, about 20% higher than 2005/06

• productivity rose by 2% as the volume of final output fell by 1% and the volume of all inputs fell by 3%

• the area of land being managed under agri-environment schemes has increased to over 7500m hectares (18,532m acres) and the number of agreements to over 85,000.

A pocketbook, Agricultural Statistics in your Pocket 2006, which complements Agriculture in the United Kingdom 2006 is also published today. This is free and may be obtained from the Agriculture in the United Kingdom team on 01904 455 407.