July 10, 2012

Incomes of France's pig farmers have declined by EUR4,000 (US$4,919) in 2011 from the year before, according to Bloomberg.

Pig farmer income fell to an average of EUR32,600 (US$40,063) last year from EUR36,500 (US$44,855) as poultry breeders' earnings rose to an average of EUR33,900 (US$44,660), 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 pretax operating income per farmer climbed to US$40,729 from 2010, the ministry's statistical department Agreste said in a report on its website recently. The ministry in December had predicted lower income.

France is the EU's largest farm producer, with agricultural output last year of EUR68.1 billion (US$83.6 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 EUR30,200 (US$39,565) mark 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.

Earnings for producers of commodity crops including grains, oilseeds and sugar beets slid to an average EUR41,700 (US$51,238) per farmer, 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 EUR29,900 (US$36,739), while earnings for beef cattle producers slipped to EUR15,400 (US$18,922), the report showed.