December 26, 2011

Lithuania's agricultural output rose 21.2% this year over 2010 to LTL7.922 billion (US$3.02 billion), preliminary data from the country's statistics office showed Friday (Dec 23).

The value of plant production increased by 38% to LTL4.402 billion (US$1.66 billion) and the value of animal production was up by 5.2% to LTL2.908 billion (US$1.10 billion), Statistics Lithuania said.

It attributed the growth in the value of plant production to increases of 8% in cereal production, 14.3% in rapeseed production, 10.7% in potato production and 20% in sugar-beet production, as well as a 27.9% rise in plant product purchase prices. The sharpest increases were in cereal prices, up by 47%, while rapeseed prices rose 37.6%.

The rise in the value of plant production was due to a 9.9% increase in animal product purchase prices, with livestock prices up by 20.2%, pig  prices up by 8.4% and milk prices up by 13.5%.