THE DIRECTION OF AGRIBUSINESS DEVELOPMENT IN EU COUNTRIES

Abstract

The main objective of the research is to evaluate the development of the food economy (agribusiness) in the European Union countries. The aim of the study was to analyze the productivity of agribusiness work in the European Union countries against the national economy. This was then compared to the level of socio-economic development (measured by GDP per capita) of the individual EU countries, and on this basis, the development of the agri-food sector was assessed. The time series of the study covered 1995 and 2010, ie the years for which the first and the most recent data on “Inputs for balances” are available for individual EU countries. One of the most important methods used to evaluate the development of agribusiness in the European Union was the input-output method. Research has shown that productivity in agribusiness in the EU-12 is still lower than in most EU-15 countries. Differences in productivity levels in agribusiness between countries are mainly influenced by surplus labor in agriculture. Increasing labor productivity in agriculture contributes to a stronger social division of labor in both agriculture and agribusiness, ie the development of modern food sector in line with the model of agricultural development. The question remains, however, whether the new member states will duplicate the path set by the developed Western and Northern European countries, based primarily on a large increase in labor productivity, but will follow a completely different path in food production.