ANALYSIS OF THE PRODUCTIVITY OF THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR OF THE EU COUNTRIES: DIGITAL OPPORTUNITIES OF EUROSTAT

Abstract

The article investigates the use of digital capabilities of Eurostat to analyze the dynamics and structure of crop production under standard humidity conditions in the countries of the European Union. Using the capabilities of the Eurostat database, the main digital opportunities for users in analyzing the agricultural sector are revealed on the example of crop production. The importance of comparing the volumes of cultivation of a certain type of crop production in different countries of the European Union to assess the status and prospects of development of the agricultural sector of countries is characterized. Eurostat serves as the statistical office of the European Union. Eurostat's database is one of the largest and most important sources of statistical information about the European Union member states. It was created with the aim of providing access to objective and reliable statistics on various aspects of life in the EU member states. This database contains a wide range of data from various fields, such as economy, social sphere, demography, trade and others. Eurostat collects, processes and publishes statistics for all EU member states, which allows for cross-country comparisons and analysis of various aspects of the population's life. The article characterizes the importance of comparing the volumes of cultivation of a certain type of crop production in different EU countries to assess the productivity of the agricultural sector of each country. According to the indicator “Crop production (Tomatoes) at standard EU humidity”, a comparative analysis of the structure and structural changes in the cultivation of this crop over the years in the EU countries is carried out. Indicators of structure and structural changes are computed, along with indicators of dynamics. An overall analysis of the data reveals significant shifts in the structure of tomato cultivation under standard EU humidity conditions between 2015 and 2023. The total volume of tomato cultivation in the EU witnessed a notable decrease, plummeting from 17 627,71 thousand tons to 15 789,22 thousand tons, marking a decline of 10%. Despite this decline, the majority of countries saw an increase in tomato cultivation volume in percentage terms, indicating a prevailing positive trend in this sector. This allowed us to draw conclusions about the efficiency of management, the impact of climatic conditions on cultivation and opportunities for the development of the agricultural sector. All EU countries specializing in the cultivation of this particular type of plant have been thoroughly studied.