The European Union agricultural sector saw a significant 9.2 per cent increase in labour productivity in 2025 compared with the previous year, as rising income and a shrinking workforce combined to boost the efficiency of the bloc’s farming industry, according to Eurostat.

This marked improvement in productivity was primarily driven by an 8.1 per cent rise in the real factor income generated by agricultural holdings alongside a 1.0 per cent reduction in the total volume of agricultural labour.

The statistical office reported that agricultural labour productivity increased in 19 EU countries throughout 2025, suggesting a broad recovery in performance across most member states.

The sharpest productivity increases were recorded in Luxembourg, which saw a jump of 40.1 per cent, followed by Poland with a 33.4 per cent rise and Estonia at 30.9 per cent.

Conversely, declines in productivity were estimated in 8 EU countries, with the steepest drops identified in Croatia at 14.9 per cent, Portugal at 10.7 per cent, and Greece at 8.8 per cent.

The gross value added by the EU agricultural industry went up by 10.3 per cent in 2025 compared with the previous year, reflecting a period of strengthened economic output for the sector.

During the same period, the total value of agricultural output increased by 5.3 per cent, while the costs of intermediate consumption grew by a more modest 1.5 per cent.

Looking at the long-term trajectory of the industry, EU agricultural labour productivity was 49.4 per cent higher in 2025 compared with the levels recorded in 2015.

Over that same decade-long period, the index of EU real factor income increased by 20.8 per cent while the index of agricultural labour input experienced a significant decline of 19.1 per cent.