Nowhere else in Europe is agricultural land as expensive as in the Netherlands. This is confirmed by the latest figures from the European statistical office Eurostat. One hectare of arable land cost an average of 69,632 euros in 2019. In almost all European regions, arable land is more expensive than grassland.
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In all Dutch regions, the price of arable land was above all other national averages in the European Union. There are, however, large regional differences. For example, arable land on the Spanish Canary Islands was the most expensive with an average of 120,477 euros per hectare in 2020. Arable land was the cheapest in Croatia. In 2020, one hectare there cost an average of 3,440 euros. On a regional level, one hectare of arable land cost the least in the Övre Norrland region of Sweden. That is the most northern region of Sweden. In 2020, one hectare of arable land cost an average of 1,822 euros.
Prices for arable land increased between 2011 and 2020 according to Eurostat strongest in Romania and the Czech Republic. In these countries, the price for arable land increased fivefold during this period. Other strong increases were recorded for Estonia and Lithuania (both about three and a half times higher, although they are among the lowest national averages in the EU), and Bulgaria, Hungary and Poland (more than doubling).
Greece exception
Prices also rose in most other Member States. The notable exception was Greece, where the average price of arable land fell by about 18 percent over the 2011-2020 period.
Prices for agricultural land leases also differ greatly in Europe, both between countries and between regions. The lease of a hectare of arable land or permanent grassland was the most expensive in Italy (average 837 euros per year), closely followed by the Netherlands (average 819 euros in 2019).
The highest regional average for the lease of one hectare of arable land or permanent grassland in 2020 was in the Italian region of Friili-Venezia Giulia (1,714 euros), near the border between Austria and Slovenia. Farmland leases were on average cheapest in Slovakia in 2020 (57 euros per hectare). The cheapest regions for lease in the EU were Mellersta Norrland and Övre Norrland in Sweden (both EUR 34 per hectare in 2020).
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