French and European agriculture in 2011: further income growth

Nominal agricultural production rose in France as in the European Union 27 in 2011 mainly owing to higher prices, in particular for animal products and wine. Despite the slightly steeper increase in intermediate-consumption prices, agricultural income stayed on an uptrend after a 2010 gain that made up for a sharp two-year decline. According to the latest provisional data for France, real net agricultural income per economically active person rose 5.1%, after the 39.0% rebound in 2010. Since 2006, this aggregate has experienced wide swings. In recent years, its total growth in France exceeded that of the EU27 average. Higher prices fuelled further growth in the agricultural trade surplus.