Page 81 - economic report 2019

The Andorran economy:

developments in the main sectors

IX. The primary sector

The primary sector is the smallest sector of
activity in the Andorran economy. It only PRIMARY SECTOR GVA
represents 0.6% of Andorran GVA and 0.4% Variation rate in real terms Chart 9.1
of employees, so changes in this sector do not
significantly influence developments in the
economy as a whole. The trend in GVA for the
agricultural sector was negative in the period
2013-2015, but then it changed direction and
became positive in 2016 and 2017. In 2018,
the variation rate returned to slightly negative
values (-0.8%) and in 2019 this decline
deepened (-2%).

Source: Department of Statistics.
In line with the decline in activity, the number 79
of employees in the sector saw a relatively slight
decline in 2019: from 164 in 2018 to 160 in In 2019 the GVA for the agricultural
2019, representing a variation of -2.6%. On sector fell 2%.
the other hand, the number of establishments
dedicated to the primary sector stayed at 49,
the same figure as the previous year. Historically speaking, the number of establishments in this
sector is at historic highs.

The entry of agricultural products into the customs union is opening up new opportunities in the
primary sector, which will be able to access new markets and benefit from European quality labels.
At the same time, this opportunity has spurred crop and livestock farmers to make investments to
improve the production process, to obtain quality seals and increase productivity, especially in the
wine and meat sectors. In line with the effort to introduce improvements in the production process,
the average monthly wages of employees in the sector have been growing for four consecutive
years. In 2019, the increase was 2.4%, putting the average wage in the primary sector at €1,599.

The average size of crop In 2019, two new crop farms were created (one The Andorran economy: developments in the main sectors | IX. The primary sector
farms fell. in Encamp and the other in Andorra la Vella),
so there is now a total of 316 farms. The parish
with most activity is still Sant Julià de Lòria,
with 64 farms, while Escaldes-Engordany bottoms the list with only 28 farms. Timewise, there
has been a gradual increase in the number of farms in the last two years, while the total cultivated
area has fallen in the last three years to about 19.7 km (Utilised Agricultural Area), meaning that
2
farm size has fallen slightly.

By type of crop, 61% of the total farmed area is used for pasture, 25% for hay, and 7% for tobacco.
Over the last six years, the area for fallow and market gardening has increased. On the other hand,