Agricultural production — crop statistics

SUMMARY OF:

Regulation (EC) No 543/2009 — crop statistics

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THIS REGULATION?

It lays down common rules for EU-wide statistics on agricultural land use and crop production.

KEY POINTS

EU countries must provide the European Commission (Eurostat) with quality annual agricultural statistics on land use and total production of:

crops from arable land;
vegetables, melons and strawberries, and
permanent crops*;

EU countries must:

provide the data annually, within specified time limits, for the relevant harvest year*;
ensure the accuracy of all data;
provide the Commission every 3 years, starting on 1 October 2011, with reports on the quality of the data they send.

The European Commission may:

amend non-essential elements of the legislation. It did so through Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 2015/1557 when it updated the annex containing the full list of crops covered by the regulation.

The data cover over 100 crops in different categories and subcategories:

cereals (17 categories),
other main crops, mainly
- dry pulses (such as beans, lentils and peas),
- protein,
- root (such as potatoes or sugar beet),
- industrial crops (such as cotton, oilseed crops, hops and tobacco) (29),
vegetables (40),
permanent crops (41),
utilised agricultural land (18).

FROM WHEN DOES THE REGULATION APPLY?

It has applied since 1 January 2010.

BACKGROUND

Accurate and timely crop statistics are essential to ensure proper administration of the common agricultural policy and management of the various individual product markets.

Data for cereals have been available since 1955 and since the early 1960s for fruit and vegetables. Most EU governments began sending data in the 1970s and 1980s, once they had joined the EU.

Eurostat, the EU’s statistical office, publishes data from the EU countries, the European Free Trade Association (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland) and current and potential EU candidate countries.

For more information, see:

Main annual crop statistics (Eurostat).

KEY TERMS

Permanent crops: crops that are harvested from perennial bushes, trees and vines such as raspberries, apples and grapes.

Harvest year: the calendar year in which the harvest begins.

MAIN DOCUMENT

Regulation (EC) No 543/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 June 2009 concerning crop statistics and repealing Council Regulations (EEC) No 837/90 and (EEC) No 959/93 (OJ L 167, 29.6.2009, pp. 1-11)

Successive amendments to Regulation (EC) No 543/2009 have been incorporated into the basic text. This consolidated version is of documentary value only.