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Hanover (dpa) - Despite difficult framework conditions such as the corona pandemic or the collapsed export markets, the agricultural sector in Germany got through the past year well.
According to a joint study by the consulting firm Ernst & Young (EY) and the University of Göttingen, estimated sales only decreased slightly by 1.7 percent compared to the previous year to 234 billion euros.
As the largest sub-sector, the food industry even achieved record sales of an estimated 186.3 billion euros, according to the study presented in Hanover on Tuesday.
This area includes, among other things, slaughter and meat processing, the dairy industry and the beverage industry.
For the meat industry, the year was difficult given the corona outbreaks in slaughterhouses and the export ban to China due to African swine fever, the authors noted.
They estimate that sales will decrease by 0.7 percent to 45 billion euros compared to 2019.
According to the Association of German Mechanical and Plant Engineering, agricultural engineering will be at the previous year's level with sales of EUR 8.6 billion.
The dairy industry is also expected to remain at its record level of the previous year of 29 billion euros.
According to the study, the export share of the meat industry fell from 25 to 22.7 percent.
On the other hand, butchers could sell more goods.
"The corona pandemic made consumers aware of the value of regional products, and they made more purchases in specialist shops," said EY expert Christian Janze.