December 20 (SeeNews) - Romania’s estimated agricultural labour productivity fell by 21.2% year-on-year in 2022, showing the sharpest decline across the EU, the bloc's statistical office said.
The country was followed by Slovakia, Portugal and Malta with decreases of 15.4%, 11.8% and 11.2%, respectively, Eurostat said in a press release on Monday, citing preliminary data.
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Across the EU, the index of agricultural labour productivity is estimated to have climbed year-on-year by 13% in 2022, after slight growth in 2021. The sharpest rate of increase, or 66.8 %, was seen in Germany.
Among the EU member states in Southeast Europe (SEE), Croatia was the only country in addition to Romania to show a decrease. With a rise of 16.46%, Slovenia posted the strongest growth in the group. It was followed by Bulgaria and Greece, with increases of 15.38% and 9.2%, respectively.
The year was marked by extraordinary inflationary pressures stemming from supply chain issues as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. The developments in agricultural labour productivity in each of the EU member states reflected a degree of exposure or resilience to these external factors, Eurostat said.