EXAMINING THE COMPETITIVENESS OF CEREAL PRODUCTION IN SELECTED EU COUNTRIES

This paper examines the competitiveness of cereal production in selected EU member states. The analysis showed that productivity levels in the UK, Ireland and France were consistently higher than competing countries Denmark, Germany and Italy. In terms of profitability, the opportunity cost of owned resources had a major impact on relative competitiveness. These findings are important in the context of decoupled payments as producers must make production decisions based on full economic costs of production.