2005: the structural break
Decoupling reshaped the accounts overnight. Subsidy per euro of output jumped from €0.10 to €0.30 and the share of input costs covered leapt past 44% — the single largest discontinuity in the series.
Every euro of output,and the cost for it.
Input costs per €1 of agricultural output have climbed by 22% since 1990. Strip out net subsidies and the picture barely moves.
+22%
€0.57
Input cost per €1 output
Up from €0.47 in 1990. Peaked at €0.84 in 2009.
−61% vs 2009
€0.14
Net subsidy per €1 output
Down from the €0.36 high in 2009 — a steady two-decade retreat.
≈ flat
€0.44
Subsidy-adjusted cost per €1 output
Remarkably flat: €0.47 in 1990 versus €0.44 today.
−21pp vs 2006
24%
Input costs covered by subsidies
Averaged 32% since 2005, when decoupled payments landed.
Cost, subsidy & the true margin
Per €1 of agricultural output · 1990–2025
- Share of input costs covered by subsidies
- Input cost per €1 output
- Net subsidy per €1 output
- Input cost, subsidy-adjusted
HoverMove across the chart to inspect any year from 1990 to 2025.
2009: peak exposure
Input costs hit €0.84 per euro of output, the highest on record, while subsidies simultaneously peaked at €0.36. Without support, the adjusted cost would still have sat near €0.47.
The quiet squeeze
Since 2009 subsidies have fallen every cycle while headline costs stayed high. Coverage slid from 46% to 24% — the burden has migrated back onto the farm gate.