Farmers/farm workers: 910,000
Utilized agricultural area: 30,139,000 hectares
Principal agricultural products in France:
- Sugar beet: 1st in the EU, 2nd in the world (29 million tonnes)
- Wine: 2nd in the world, 2nd in the EU (5.3 million tonnes)
- Milk: 2nd in the EU, 5th in the world (23.3 million tonnes)
- Beef and veal: 1st in the EU, 6th in the world (1,815,000 tonnes)
- Cereals: 1st in the EU (53.4 million tonnes, including 30 million tonnes of soft wheat, 8th in the world, and 12.5 million tonnes of grain maize)
- Oilseeds: 1st in the EU (4.1 million tonnes)
Forests
Woods and forests cover some 15 million hectares, 26% of France’s total area, placing France third in the EU countries in terms of forest area, behind Sweden and Finland. Forest area in France has increased by 35% since 1945 and continues to grow by about 30,000 hectares each year. Most trees are deciduous (2/3), while the remaining third consists of conifers. The National Forestry Office (Office national des ForÃÂts -ONF) is responsible for managing national forests (1,750,000 hectares) and those belonging to local authorities (2,850,000 hectares). The remaining 10,500,000 hectares belong to some 3,800,000 private owners. Forests in France are a source of biological and scenic wealth, a place for excursions and relaxation; they also yield an annual harvest of 55 million cubic metres of timber.
For more information, check out the Agriculture Department
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