Agriculture Fared Well in the First "EU Year". The Development of Agriculture and Forestry in the Provinces in 1995

Agriculture fared well in the first "EU year" despite a difficult starting position. The drop in prices and in revenues was offset by much higher direct payments to farmers. Thus, the level of income in agriculture could be stabilized in the first year of membership in the EU. The collapse of prices in the wake of EU membership and the resulting drop in the value of final output affected all regions of Austria, though with varying intensity. The value of final output declined at an above-average rate in Lower Austria (–23 percent) and in Vienna (–45 percent); the agricultural branches most affected by integration, such as production of grains and vegetables, are heavily represented in these areas. In Styria (–14½ percent), Carinthia (–14 percent), and in Vorarlberg (–16 percent) losses in the value of final output were lower than in Austria on average. In Styria, regional particularities in plant production (the high weight of specialty farming and of corn production) cushioned the losses; in Vorarlberg, this effect was due to lower losses of the dairy industry. Carinthia benefited from the high share of forestry, which is far above average. The results for Burgenland, Upper Austria, Salzburg, and Tirol were close to the average, ranging from –20 percent to –22 percent. High direct payments to farmers compensated to a large extent for the regional disparities in the development of revenues. In Burgenland, Carinthia, and in Vorarlberg total revenues (value of final output plus direct payments) exceeded the level of 1994 by ½ to 2½ percent. With the exception of Vienna (–37 percent), only slight losses of up to 3 percent (Upper Austria) were recorded for the other provinces.