This increase results from a rise in real agricultural income (+0.5 per cent), together with a reduction in agricultural labour input (-0.5 per cent). These estimates for the EU27 are based on data supplied by the national authorities in the Member States.

Between 2005 and 2012, EU27 real agricultural income per worker is estimated to have increased by 29.7 per cent, while agricultural labour input has fallen by 20.0 per cent.

The increase in EU27 real agricultural income in 2012 is mainly the result of a rise in the value of the output of the agricultural sector at producer prices in real terms (+1.8 per cent), while input costs in real terms grew (+1.6 per cent).

Real agricultural income per worker in 2012 is estimated to have risen in sixteen Member States and fallen in eleven. The highest increases are expected in Belgium (+30.0 per cent), the Netherlands (+14.9 per cent), Lithuania (+13.6 per cent) and Germany (+12.1 per cent), and the largest decreases in Romania (-16.4 per cent), Hungary (-15.7 per cent) and Slovenia (-15.1 per cent).

In 2012, the value of EU27 agricultural output at producer prices is estimated to have increased by 1.8 per cent, mainly due to a small increase in real terms in the value of crop production (+0.5 per cent) and a larger one for animal production (+3.8 per cent).

The rise in the value of crop production is due to an increase in real prices (+6.3 per cent) counterbalanced by a decrease in volume (-5.4 per cent). Volumes fell for most groups of crops: plants and flowers (-0.8 per cent), fresh vegetables (-2.0 per cent), sugar beet (-6.2 per cent), fruits (-6.5 per cent), cereals (-7.3 per cent), oilseeds (-7.9 per cent), and particularly for potatoes (-13.8 per cent) and wine (-15.6 per cent). Prices rose for all groups of crops: sugar beet (+1.2 per cent), plants and flowers (+1.4 per cent), potatoes (+3.2 per cent), fruits (+4.7 per cent), wine (+6.2 per cent), fresh vegetables (+7.8 per cent), oilseeds (+8.8 per cent) and cereals (+9.1 per cent). Olive oil was the only product to show an increase in both volume (+9.2 per cent) and price (+0.9 per cent).

The increase in the value of animal production is mainly due to an increase in prices (+3.9 per cent) while volume slightly decreased (-0.2 per cent). Volumes fell for cattle (-2.4 per cent), eggs (-1.8 per cent), sheep and goats (-1.2 per cent) and pigs (-1.0 per cent), but rose for milk (+0.9 per cent) and poultry (+2.7 per cent). Prices fell for milk (-5.4 per cent) and sheep and goats (-1.3 per cent), while they rose for poultry (+1.9 per cent), cattle (+8.5 per cent), pigs (+10.2 per cent) and most significantly for eggs (+36.2 per cent).

EU27 agricultural input costs (intermediate consumption) are estimated to have risen by 1.6 per cent in real terms, mainly due to an increase in prices (+3.2 per cent), in particular for maintenance of buildings (+3.5 per cent), feedingstuffs (+3.7 per cent), seeds and planting stocks (+4.7 per cent), energy and lubricants (+6.3 per cent), financial intermediation services (+6.6 per cent) and fertilisers and soil improvers (+6.7 per cent).