§ Paul Flynn:To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what changes have taken place in the annual (a) net and (b) gross incomes of farmers in each of the past three years; and what estimates she has made of income levels in the next three years. [129236]
§ Mr. Bradshaw:The gross income of the UK agriculture industry, as measured by the gross value of production, and the net income measures of Total Income from Farming and Total Income from Farming per full time person equivalent, are given in the table for the years 2000–02:
£ Gross value of production
Total income from farming
Total income from farming
per full time
equivalent
2000 15.0 billion 1.74 billion 7,848 2001 15.3 billion 2.04 billion 9,298 2002 15.5 billion 2.36 billion 11,107 Total income from farming is an aggregate measure of income across the whole farming industry. It is income generated by production within the agriculture industry, including subsidies, and represents business profits plus remuneration for work done by owners and other unpaid workers.
Forecasts of the key drivers of future business prospects-in particular commodity prices and exchange rates—are highly uncertain.
An increase in Total Income from Farming per full time equivalent of around one third is expected for 2003 due primarily to the effects of the exchange rate. There has been a recovery in the Euro so far in 2003 which has led to a rise in prices across a range of commodities and will result in higher direct subsidy payments.
Beyond 2003, there is likely to be only a modest recovery in commodity markets over the medium term future.
More detailed information may be found in a regular notice on the economic position of the farming industry published on the Defra website at http://statistics.defra.gov.u/esg/reports/repfi.pdf.