Last Year Farm Income Increased by 4.3%... Expected Decline This Year Due to Falling Livestock Prices

Rural Economy Institute Presents at 'Agricultural Outlook 2022' Event

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] A survey result was announced estimating that last year’s agricultural production value and farm household income increased by 7.8% and 4.3%, respectively, compared to the previous year. This year, due to a decline in livestock product prices, agricultural production value and farm household income are expected to decrease slightly.

The Korea Rural Economic Institute announced this at the 'Agricultural Outlook 2022' event held online over two days starting from the 19th. Last year’s agricultural production value was tentatively estimated at 54.042 trillion KRW, a 7.8% increase from 2020.

Among this, the production value of crop farming increased by 2.7% due to rising prices of vegetables and fruits, and the production value of 'livestock and sericulture' combined increased by 15.3% due to rising prices of Korean beef, pork, and eggs.

Farm household income was identified as 46.97 million KRW, a 4.3% increase from 2020. It was analyzed that policy effects such as public direct payments and supply adjustment, as well as the overall price increase of agricultural and livestock products, were effective.

Trends in Agricultural Production Value and Farm Household Income. (Source: Korea Rural Economic Institute)

This year’s agricultural production value is forecasted to be 52.293 trillion KRW, a 3.2% decrease from last year.

The production value of crop farming is expected to decrease by 0.6% to 30.376 trillion KRW. Fruit production value is expected to decrease by 3.7% due to price drops following productivity recovery this year, and vegetable production value is expected to decrease by 2.1% this year due to the base effect of last year’s production increase. The production value of livestock and sericulture is also expected to decrease by 6.6% to 21.917 trillion KRW due to price drops caused by increased slaughter and production volumes compared to last year.

This year’s farm household income is also expected to decrease by 0.6% to 46.71 million KRW compared to last year. Agricultural income within farm household income is forecasted to decrease by 6.9% due to a reduction in total agricultural revenue caused by falling livestock product prices and increased agricultural management costs. Non-agricultural income is expected to increase by 3.4% due to rising agricultural wages and expanded capital income, but transfer income is expected to decrease by 0.3% due to a reduction in government disaster relief funds related to COVID-19, according to the research team.

The farm household population this year is expected to be 2.237 million, a 1.7% decrease from the previous year. Employment in agriculture, forestry, and fisheries is expected to increase due to the rise in return-to-farming and return-to-village movements.