Croatia continues to boast the most affordable arable land prices in the EU, maintaining its status in 2022 with an average cost of €3,700 per hectare, as per the latest Eurostat data.

This stands in stark contrast to the EU average of €10,578 per hectare for the same year.

Malta holds the top spot for the priciest arable land, commanding an average of €233,230 per hectare, driven by limited availability and competing demands for alternative land uses. High prices were also observed in the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Ireland, ranging from €85,000 to €38,000 per hectare.

Greece, the Czech Republic, Poland, and Spain align closely with the European average, while Croatia's closest counterparts in affordability are Latvia (€4,420 per hectare) and Slovakia (€4,790 per hectare).

Interestingly, Eurostat lacked data on arable land prices in Belgium, Germany, Austria, Italy, Portugal, and Cyprus.

Shifting focus to agricultural rents, the EU's average in 2022 was €199 per hectare. Slovakia emerges as the most cost-effective, with an average rent of €57 per hectare. Croatia follows closely behind at €74 per hectare, while the Netherlands tops the charts with an average agricultural rent of €843 per hectare.

Hungary and Lithuania's agricultural rent nearly mirrors the EU average, while Eurostat did not provide data on Belgium, Cyprus, Germany, Italy, Poland, and Romania. Photo by Robert Ruff, Wikimedia commons.