Agriculture in Lithuania

Agriculture in Lithuania formed the basis of the Lithuania's economy in 1940. More than half of the labor force of Lithuania was engaged in agricultural work. Fifty years later, agriculture of Lithuania still continued to play a crucial role in the economy of the country. The agricultural sector in Lithuania provided a large number of jobs and about fifty percent of the country's national product. By the end of the communist rule, the agricultural production costs in Lithuania were almost 3 times more than that of the western countries.

The importance of agriculture in Lithuania has been coming down through ages and even today, the economy is an agricultural one. Lithuania is making efforts and taking measures to raise its agriculture to western standards. Capital, resources, agricultural equipments, techniques etc in Lithuania are still lagging behind. Though agricultural production in Lithuania had fallen during the late 1990s, the adoption of new technologies have checked the reduction.



Lithuanian agriculture includes family farms and farms owned by corporate houses. Approximately 3.37 million hectares of land in Lithuania are used for agricultural production. Agricultural exports included fish, milk, butter, cheese etc. Almost 80% of the total agricultural products are exported to Russia. EU is the major supplier of agricultural products. Agricultural imports include food and fruits. The most important crops produced in Lithuania are potatoes, sugar beets and wheat.