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Bank Advances to Agriculture 2010
12/08/2010
Scotland's Chief Statistician today published statistics on bank advances to agriculture
These statistics are based on information collected from banks and mortgage companies operating in Scotland.
The total outstanding balance of bank advances to Scottish agriculture on May 31, 2010 was £1,506 million. This was £121 million (8.7 per cent) higher than in 2009, or an increase in real terms of 5.5 per cent.
In real terms, this is the largest annual increase since 2000, with the 2010 total close to the average for the last twenty years of £1,450 million.
There was little change in the proportion of the balance of outstanding bank advances to owner-occupier farmers (88.3 per cent), tenant farmers (8.8 per cent), agricultural contractors (2.3 per cent) and livestock salesmen (0.6 per cent).
The prevalence of advances to owner-occupier farms reflects the structure of agriculture in Scotland, where 74 per cent of agricultural area (excluding common grazing) is owner-occupied.
Estimates of total liabilities to Scottish agriculture were published in the 2010 Economic Report on Scottish Agriculture. In 2009, this stood at £2,315 million of which £1,385 million (60 per cent) was from bank borrowing. The remaining £930 million came from hire purchase, leasing, family members and other sources.
The Farm Accounts Survey (FAS) provides detailed results on farm liabilities, including bank loans and overdrafts by farm type and tenure. The FAS is representative of larger farms in Scotland. The latest available results from 2008/09 show that the average farm had external liabilities of £89,900 including bank loans and overdrafts of £52,600.
National statistics are produced by professionally independent statistical staff.