Output and employment growth in primary agriculture and the food processing sector across the EU: Are some doing better than others?

The economic importance of agriculture and food production in EU Member States is in decline, yet the KBBE promises a better future for the agri-food and related sectors. Taking a high level approach, this exploratory paper uses official data to examine the development of output, gross value added and employment in the agri-food sector over the last decade. At the Member State level, the relationship between the agri-food sector’s primary and processing sectors is examined. Comparing the performance of different Member States shows that substantially different agri-food economic developments are evident over the last decade. Solid explanations for the observed differences in the experiences of the Member States extend beyond the scope of the paper. Consequently, the tentative conclusion is that fundamental differences in the composition of primary agriculture between the Member States of the EU may mean that some Member States stand to benefit to a greater degree from the KBBE than do others.