Agricultural rent prices rise 13 per cent

The average cost of renting agricultural land has risen 13 per cent since last year, new figures show.

Scotland's Chief Statistician today released the latest figures on Tenanted Agricultural Land in Scotland.

Average rent for land was £38 per hectare in 2013 compared to £33 per hectare the previous year. The increase was largely driven by an above-inflation rise in rent prices for poorer-quality Less Favoured Area (LFA) land, which was up 24 per cent from £20 to £24 per hectare. The average rent of other land rose by three per cent from £126 to £130 per hectare over the same period.

Rents were highest in Fife and the Lothians, and lowest in Shetland and Eileanan an Iar.

The report also contains new figures on seasonal lets. These show that the decline in longer-term rented land - which has fallen from 1.61 million hectares in 2005 to 1.37 million hectares in 2013 - has been offset by an equivalent increase in seasonal lets, meaning the total amount of rented agricultural land has remained constant since 2005 at around 2.17 million hectares.

Analysis of the results of the Farm Accounts Survey suggest that there is no clear link between profitability and whether a farm is wholly owned or wholly rented.

The figures released today were produced by independent statistical staff, free from any political interference, in accordance with professional standards set out in the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.