Ireland had the fourth highest price in the European Union (EU) for one hectare of arable land in 2021, according to a new report.
The Eurostat report shows that the average price in Ireland was €32,201/ha in 2021, compared to €25,724/ha in 2020.
The latest report also details that land prices were slightly higher in the “Southern ” region of Ireland at €32,863/ha in 2021 and also lower in the “Eastern/ Midlands region” at €31,778/ha.
Arable land prices
According to analysts there was a “20-fold variation in arable land prices across the EU” in 2021.
The Eurostat report highlights that arable was more expensive than permanent grassland.
The price of one hectare of arable land in 2021 ranged from a low of €3,661 on average in Croatia to an estimated €47, 290 on average in Luxembourg according to available 2021 data.
The highest price fetched for arable land across the EU was identified in the Netherlands where it averaged in the region of €71,225/ha in 2021.
The Eurostat report details that in general year on year price increases were recorded in the price of arable across the 19 EU member states based on the available data.
Specifically at a regional level the Spanish region of the Canary Islands recorded the highest prices for arable – at an average €120, 477/ha
In contrast the lowest was in the Swedish region of Övre Norrland where arable averaged €1, 882/ha.
Permanent grassland
According to EU analysts the variation in land prices reflects a number of different factors including regional legislation, climate, proximity to networks and specific aspects such as soil quality.
But market forces such as supply and demand are also key influencers on the price of agricultural land.
The Eurostat report also highlights that the price of buying permanent grass was lower in most EU regions than buying arable.
It detailed for example that it was a little over 20 times more expensive on average on the Greek islands of the North Aegean region where arable land averaged €37, 926h/a and permanent grassland was €1, 744h/a.
Meanwhile in the Spanish region of Murcia there was a significant disparity as arable land averaged €20,445 h/a and permanent grassland was just €982h/a.
However there were exemptions to the arable land versus permanent grassland price variations according to Eurostat’s latest report.
The Spanish regions of Asturias reported a disparity of €8 096/€9 536 per/ha, Madrid €7 621/€7 946 per h/a and the Lithuanian region of Sostinės €3 805/€4 055/ha.