The Agricultural Sector in 1994: Vigorous Recovery in Production and Revenues. The Development of Agriculture and Forestry in the Provinces

1994 was a good year for agriculture and forestry. Production and value added emerged from the low of the preceding years. Incomes from agriculture were also on the rise. All important agricultural regions benefited from the strong recovery, but those concentrating on crop production and forestry were favored. The highest increase in final production was recorded for Burgenland (+13½ percent); with a growth rate of between 6 and 9 percent, Lower Austria, Carinthia, and Tirol also achieved above-average gains. Vienna's development lagged behind in 1994 (–3 percent). In 1994 the value of final output totaled some Sch 77.3 billion, 5 percent higher than in 1993. The increase is due to a vigorous recovery of revenues in forestry (+28 percent) and in crop production (+10½ percent). In crop production, losses in the production of fruits and sugar beets were more than offset by substantially higher revenues in the production of grains, wine, and potatoes. Final animal production decreased by about 2½ percent; with the exception of milk production, all important sectors suffered losses. The increase in production and higher revenues stimulated the demand for farm supplies. Farmers also spent more on investment. Direct payments of the public sector to enterprises in agriculture and forestry increased markedly. Revenues from indirect taxes dropped. As a result, farm income surged by 12 percent to Sch 38.1 billion. Outmigration of labor from agriculture has accelerated since 1989; with a rate of 5 percent, it reached a near-record high in 1994. Farmers and members of their families are most likely to leave the agricultural sector. People leaving this sector through retirement are replaced by new entrants less frequently than in earlier years. The forced outmigration from agriculture anticipates some of the structural adjustments necessitated by the accession to the EU. The good results for 1994 stabilized the share of agriculture and forestry in GDP at 2.3 percent. The rate of the active labor force employed in this sector decreased to 4.9 percent, dropping below the 5 percent mark for the first time. In 1994 all important production areas benefited from the strong recovery of final output, though regions which concentrate on plant production and forestry fared somewhat better. The highest gains in the value of final product were reported for Burgenland (+13½ percent); Lower Austria (+6½ percent) as well as Carinthia (+9 percent) and Tirol (+6 percent) also posted above-average growth rates. Burgenland and Lower Austria profited from the good crops in plant production and the large weight of these branches in their agricultural sectors. In Carinthia and Tirol high gains in forestry determined the overall picture. In Upper Austria (+3 percent) the large share of animal production limited the expansion; in Styria (2½ percent), the low growth rate was due to losses in grain and fruit harvests. Salzburg (1 percent) and Vorarlberg posted only slight gains; in Vorarlberg higher yields in forestry were almost offset by losses in fruit production; in Salzburg a decline in animal production, an important sector, limited the overall growth. Vienna (–3 percent) was the only province to record a marked decline from the 1993 level.Agrarsektor 1994. Kräftige Erholung; The Agricultural Sector in 1994: Vigorous Recovery in Production and Revenues. The Development of Agriculture and Forestry in the Provinces