The relationship between capital stock value development and selected agricultural sector’s characteristics in new EU countries

Abstract

The paper’s main ambition is to analyze agrarian sector development in individual new EU member countries with the emphasis on investments coming to agriculture. The idea is to analyze the relationship between the agricultural sector and its performance on one side, and level and structure of investments coming to agriculture on the other. The main objective is to identify the relationship between capital stock value development and agrarian sector performance in individual analysed countries. The paper is focused on an analysis of agrarian sector performance and structure on one side and gross capital stock value and structure on the other side. The paper analyses the time period before the global economy crisis appeared. The results coming from the analysis are the following. The agricultural sector changed its structure and position within the national economy of individual new EU member states significantly during the last two decades. In the period before the global economy crisis appeared, the individual analyzed countries reduced the size of their agricultural sector and they also reduced the value of agricultural sector performance. Despite the significant reduction of the agricultural sector in many analyzed countries it can be said that individual countries became more efficient in relation to agricultural sector performance. Individual country’s agrarian sectors became more effective and their competitiveness increased. Individual country’s agricultural sector size and performance development are closely related to investments coming to agriculture. Both the agricultural sector structure and also agricultural sector production performance are closely related to available investments (gross capital stock value). Taking into consideration the main objective of this paper it can be said that the most sensitive segments of agricultural sector in relation to investments are livestock production and land development. Regarding sensitivity of agricultural production performance in relation to changes in investment value it can be said that the most sensitive are livestock production and non-food agricultural production.