News Lease prices
This costs renting 1 bunder in the EU
Not only the land price in the Netherlands, but also the Dutch lease price is the highest within the European Union (EU). How much does it cost to rent 1 bunder in the EU, and where do the differences in price come from?
The difference in rent prices between EU countries is large, according to Numbers from Wageningen Economic Research. The average lease price is €200 per hectare. The figures also show that half of the land in the EU is leased and the other half is owned. The Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) pay the least for leased land. The amounts in these countries amount to about €50 to €100 per hectare.
The lease price in Romania and the Czech Republic is about €100 per hectare. It is also relatively cheap to rent in Sweden, Hungary and Spain; prices are between €130 and €160 per hectare. In the United Kingdom (UK) approximately €170 per hectare is being deposited for the lease of 1 acre of land.
France and Poland
In countries where there is more agriculture and where emigration is more likely to be considered (Poland and France), you pay more for leasing land. This quickly concerns prices of €200 per hectare. In addition, France is also the country where the most land is leased and where the most agricultural land can be found; more than 80% of the 27 million hectares has been leased. However, the figures are different in Poland, where (relatively speaking) the least amount of land is leased. About 18% of the 14,4 million hectares is leased.
The closer we get to the Netherlands, the faster the rent rises. In Germany and Belgium, the price quickly amounts to around €300 per hectare. However, there is only 1 country that comes somewhat close to the Netherlands: Denmark. In the country, the lease price is more than €500 per hectare.
The Netherlands lonely at the top
However, as mentioned before, the Netherlands is at the top of the list. The average rent in our country is about €800 per hectare. The figures also show that approximately 40% of the 1,8 million hectares of available land are leased in the Netherlands. The Netherlands also has the second highest direct payments (after Belgium). That comes out to about €390 per hectare.
However, those direct payments are not yet related. In the EU, an average of €257 per hectare is given in direct payments, while the average lease price is €200 per hectare. In short: direct payments are higher than the lease price in most countries.
Soil productivity
The main reasons for the differences in price are the productivity of land-based agriculture and the balance between supply and demand. The productivity of the soil is considerably lower in Poland, Germany and France, compared to Belgium and the Netherlands. This is apparent from the figures from Wageningen Economic Research
However, even when productivity is used as an indicator, the price in the Netherlands is above the expected level. On the other hand, the lease price is Belgium relatively low when land productivity is used as a gauge.
Another important reason for the differences in price is the degree to which the government regulates. In France there is strong regulation from the government (the SAFER), while in Romania and the UK there is a much more liberal approach to lease prices.
Anne-Jan Doorn
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