Competitiveness of Dairy Farms in European Union Countries in the Light of FADN Data

Abstract

The aim of the study is to assess the competitiveness of farms specializing in milk production in the European Union. The research was carried out based on the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) from 2013–2015. Countries with a large share of dairy farms in the total number of farms participating in FADN include the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Lithuania, Latvia, Austria and Germany. The research has shown that in almost all EU Member States the group of farms surveyed achieved competitive advantages in terms of income level in relation to its average value in the entire group of farms. The surveyed specialist farms in most EU countries also achieved competitive advantages in terms of the value of farm per 1 ha of UR. In the case of labour productivity and net value added per person working full-time, competitive advantages occurred in 19 Member States. Most of the countries where no competitive advantages of competitive farms of the dairy cows was observed are the new EU Member States.