Germany - Agriculture

Although 34% of the total area of Germany is devoted to crop production, production falls far short of satisfying industrial and consumer demand. Agriculture accounted for only 1% of GDP in2002. The total amount of arable land in 1999 came to 11,797,000 hectares (29,150,000 acres). In 1999, the average size of the 30,308 farms in the former GDR Länder was about 185 ha (450 acres), while in the old FRG the average size of its 401,000 farms was about 27 ha (67 acres).

Article 15 of the 1990 Treaty (for monetary, economic and social union) arranged for transitional price supports for GDR farmers until an integration within the EU agricultural market could occur. Before reunification, agriculture had engaged about6.1% and 3% of the economically active populations of the former GDR and old FRG, respectively. Agriculture engaged 3% of Germany's population in 2001. The former GDR Länder contribute significantly to German agricultural production. The chief crops in order of yield in 1999 were sugar beets, 27,587,000 tons; wheat, 19,684,000 tons; barley, 13,322,000 tons; and potatoes, 11,420,000 tons. Apples and pears as well as cherries and peaches are significant fruit crops. Viticulture is important in the southwest, and Germany is a renowned producer of wines for world consumption; 1,229,000 tons of wine were produced in1999. Germany is the world's third largest importer of agricultural products (after Japan and the United States), with nearly $32.2 billion in 2001.