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Agriculture Facts and Figures
17/06/2008
Scotland's Chief Statistician today published the annual Scottish Agriculture Facts and Figures booklet.
The publication presents summary information on a wide variety of agriculture statistics for 2007 in a convenient booklet format and covers the main trends in agriculture, including comparisons with other parts of the UK and Europe. A section on the Scottish food and drink sector is also included.
Whilst most of the headline statistics have already been published, the booklet provides a useful reference guide for users, particularly on UK and Europe comparisons. The following points, relating to 2007 unless otherwise stated are worth noting:
- The total value of agricultural output from Scotland was £2.1billion, representing 13 per cent of UK and 1 per cent of EU25 agricultural output
- Agricultural employment was 67,000, compared to 48,000 in the food and drinks sector (in 2005), where total turnover was £7.6 billion (in 2005)
- The contribution of the Cattle sector to Scottish agricultural output was 21.5 per cent, proportionately much higher than the UK (10.8 per cent) and EU25 (8.6 per cent). Conversely, the contribution of Horticulture was 9.4 per cent in Scotland, compared to 14.8 per cent in the UK and 21.4 per cent in EU25
- In Scotland, 38 per cent of agricultural holdings were smaller than 5 hectares in size. This compares to 40 per cent in the UK, 58 per cent in EU15 (in 2005) and 62 per cent in EU25 (in 2005)
- In Scotland, for holdings larger than 5 hectares, the average size was 174.7 hectares. This is much greater than corresponding averages in the UK (78.2 hectares), EU15 (41.9 hectares) (in 2005) and EU25 (37.5 hectares) (in 2005)
- Land designated as 'Less Favoured Area' makes up 84 per cent of agricultural land in Scotland, a higher proportion than 17 per cent in England and 46 per cent in the UK