WRITTEN QUESTION E-3691/00

by Jorge Hernández Mollar (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(29 November 2000)

Subject: Fall in agricultural production in Málaga

According to the annual report for that year on the agricultural sector in Andalusia, agricultural production in the Spanish province of Málaga slumped by a massive 19 % in 1999.

This extremely disappointing result was brought about by a combination of factors including drought, the poor performance of subsectors such as forestry, and the movement of labour away from the countryside to economically more attractive areas for young people.

At all events, however, given the alarming figures, it is essential to determine what remedies can be employed to prevent a repetition this year.

Does the Commission believe that it should provide material support to enable steps to be taken to investigate the contributory factors involved in Málaga's disappointing agricultural performance in 1999 and lay the foundations for revitalisation of the agricultural sector in the province?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(6 February 2001)

The data to which the Honourable Member refers concerning the fall in agricultural production in Malaga province in 1999 would appear to have been taken from the annual report on agriculture in Andalusia, published by Unicaja.

The report states that final agricultural production fell by 18,7 % and final forestry production by 17,4 %, while final stock-farming production rose by 16,69 %; final agricultural production as a whole thus fell by 11,36 %.

A point to bear in mind when examining these macroeconomic figures is that a single set of annual data should not be viewed in isolation, since agricultural production inevitably fluctuates each year because of varying weather conditions.

The data for the period 1990-1999 given in the report show that the reasons for last year's sharp fall were the two previous years' abnormally high figures and the effects of the drought during this latest marketing year.

Compared with the previous marketing year, the figures for agricultural production in 1997 and 1998 rose by 51,46 % and 12,71 % (ESP 63 606 million and ESP 71 692 million respectively, inflation-adjusted); those levels are appreciably higher than the averages for the previous years (around ESP 40 000-50 000 million) and the figure for 1999 (ESP 58 287 million).

An examination of the various subsectors during the last year shows that the fall clearly results from weather conditions: for crops such as cereals and industrial crops (e.g. oilseed) in non-irrigated areas, the figure for agricultural production fell to roughly 40 % of the previous year's; forestry production fell by 17,4 %; all these forms of production were severely affected by the decrease in precipitation during the marketing year.

The report fully substantiates those figures by giving the weather profile for the crop year, which shows that in all Andalusia's weather stations total combined precipitation in 1999 was below the average for 1961-1998; it was below 50 % of that average in almost all areas.

The operational programme for rural development in Andalusia, which has been submitted for approval, sets out a framework of measures designed to enhance agricultural activity and to sustain the rural population.