Gitnux/Report 2026

Agrifood Industry Statistics

The global agricultural value-added market reached $4.2 trillion in 2024, explore the figures behind growth, companies and agrifood technology and compliance trends for 2026.
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Agrifood Industry Statistics
Samuel NorbergWritten by Samuel Norberg·Fact-checked by Maya Johansson
Published
How this report is researched
01Editorial Scope

An editor sets the topic, the inclusion criteria, and the evaluation framework before research starts.

02Source Research

AI search agents locate sources and extract each figure together with the document it came from.

Read our full methodology →

Search agents attach provenance to every extracted figure.

Next review: within 31 days

01 Industry overview

The agrifood industry at a glance

Agrifood demand is expanding amid climate pressure and supply-chain change, and global agricultural value added reached $4.2 trillion in 2024. Over 2026–2035, production is projected to expand by 13% while agrifood emissions totaled 18.5 Gt in 2024, keeping environmental pressure central.

$4.2T[31]
Agricultural value added, 2024
14%[5]
Projected production growth to 2034
26%[31]
Global workforce in agriculture, 2022
18.5 Gt[31]
Agrifood emissions, 2024
Market size
Global agricultural value added reached $4.2 trillion in 2024, up 3.1% from $4.1 trillion in 2023. This is the latest available global value-added measure for the agricultural sector; a comparable all-agrifood-system market-revenue total is not published in the cited official data.[31]
Forecast & CAGR
The OECD-FAO 2026–2035 outlook projects global agricultural and aquatic-food production to expand by 13% over the decade. This implies an approximate annualized growth rate of 1.2%, calculated from the reported 13% cumulative increase, rather than a separately published CAGR.[5]
Market share & regions
Middle-income economies are expected to generate most future expansion, with Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America identified as the main growth regions. In the previous OECD-FAO outlook, middle-income countries were projected to contribute 83% of global agricultural output growth through 2034; India and Southeast Asia were projected to account for 39% of global consumption growth.[5][31]
Segmentation
The industry spans crops, livestock, fisheries and aquaculture, plus processing, distribution, retail and food service. In the OECD-FAO 2025–2034 outlook, livestock production was projected to grow 16%, crops 14% and fish and other aquatic foods 12% by 2034; cereals were projected to be allocated 40% to direct human consumption and 33% to animal feed.[5][31]
Pricing
U.S. food prices were forecast to rise 2.9% in 2026, with food-at-home prices up 2.4% and food-away-from-home prices up 3.5%. Category differences remain large: beef and veal prices were forecast to rise 8.7%, while egg prices were forecast to fall 29.3%.[3]
Trends, drivers & challenges
Rising incomes, urbanization and population growth are increasing demand for animal-source foods, particularly in middle-income countries, while productivity gains are expected to drive most production growth. The sector faces environmental pressure: agrifood systems emitted 18.5 billion tonnes of CO2-equivalent in 2024, although emissions intensity per value of agricultural production was 27% lower than in 2001.[5][31]
Consumer behavior & competition
Consumption growth is shifting toward emerging markets and animal-source foods, while high-income consumers are reducing some fats and sweeteners because of changing preferences, policy and health concerns. In the EU, non-alcoholic food and beverage prices rose by as much as 33% between 2021 and 2025, alongside growth in private-label products and greater retailer and manufacturer consolidation.[31][61]
M&A
The European Commission unconditionally cleared Mars’s proposed $36 billion acquisition of Kellanova after an in-depth Phase II investigation. The Commission also received notification in August 2025 of SALIC’s proposed acquisition of Olam Agri, illustrating continued consolidation in food manufacturing and agricultural commodity trading.[61][6]
Regulation
The U.S. FDA Food Traceability Rule requires additional records for businesses handling foods on the Food Traceability List, including key data elements linked to critical tracking events. Although the original compliance date was January 20, 2026, FDA states that Congress directed the agency not to enforce the rule before July 20, 2028.[54]
Latest news
The latest official global data releases in November 2026 show agricultural value added reaching $4.2 trillion in 2024 and agrifood-system emissions reaching 18.5 billion tonnes of CO2-equivalent in 2024. FAO reported that global agricultural value added increased 3.1% between 2023 and 2024, while total agrifood emissions rose 21% from 2001 to 2024.[31]

02 Ranking

Top 10 Companies in the Agrifood Industry

The leading companies in the agrifood industry, ranked on market impact, performance, momentum, innovation and brand popularity.

Updated November 11, 2026 · Next review December 11, 2026

Verdict

Cargill stands out for connecting farmers and food producers globally because it operates across food, agriculture and commodity processing and commodity trading, while Bunge focuses on oilseed processing, grains and agribusiness since it reported revenue growth of 32.5% alongside an operating margin of 2.2%.

Ranked by Overall score · How we score ↓

Editor's top 3 picks

Where to start, by need.

  1. #1 Overall · Leader in agricultural commodities trading

    Cargill

    US

    Ranked #1 · 9.5 · Agricultural commodities trading

    Why we picked it: It operates across food, agriculture and commodity processing and commodity trading, linking farmers and food producers globally.

    See in ranking ↓Visit cargill.com ↗

  2. Leader in confectionery and snacking

    Mars

    US

    Ranked #3 · 9.2 · Confectionery and snacking

    Why we picked it: It makes and markets global food, confectionery, snacking and petcare products, spanning multiple branded categories.

    See in ranking ↓Visit mars.com ↗

  3. Leader in food and beverage manufacturing

    The Coca-Cola Company

    US

    Ranked #4 · 9.1 · Food and beverage manufacturing

    Why we picked it: It develops, manufactures, markets and sells non-alcoholic beverages worldwide with high operating margin.

    See in ranking ↓Visit coca-colacompany.com ↗

Pick 1 is the #1 company overall. Picks 2 and 3 are the highest-ranked companies in the top 5 that add a new segment.

Full ranking

Sort by
Top 10 companies in the agrifood industry, 2026 – Gitnux ranking
#CompanyOverall ↓Company snapshot
1

Cargill

Agricultural commodities trading · US

9.5
2

Bunge

Agricultural commodities trading · US

9.4
3

Mars

Confectionery and snacking · US

9.2
4

The Coca-Cola Company

Food and beverage manufacturing · US

9.1
5

Louis Dreyfus Company

Agricultural commodities trading · NL

8.9
6

Ferrero

Chocolate, confectionery and sweet packaged foods · LU

8.7
7

Nestlé

Global food, beverages, nutrition and petcare · CH

8.7
8

Barry Callebaut

Cocoa processing and chocolate ingredients · CH

8.6
9

PepsiCo

Snacks, beverages and convenient foods · US

8.5
10

Fonterra

Dairy ingredients and consumer dairy · NZ

8.4

How we score

  • Impact (30%): scale and weight in the market (revenue, market share, employees, market position).
  • Performance (20%): recent revenue growth and operating margin; an analyst assessment where a company does not publish them.
  • Momentum (20%): growth trajectory and future potential.
  • Innovation (15%): R&D intensity and how technologically advanced the company is.

Popularity (brand search demand, 15%) counts toward Overall but is not published as a column. Overall leaves out what is not known.

Scale Scores are shown on a 7–10 scale with one decimal; bars start at 7.0.

Cadence Recalculated when new figures are published; next review December 11, 2026.

Independence. Rankings are editorially independent. Scores, ranks, picks and the verdict follow the method above; no company can pay to change them.

Cite this ranking

APA

Samuel Norberg. (2026, November 11). Top 10 companies in the agrifood industry. In Agrifood Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/agrifood-industry-statistics/#top-companies

report visual · Projection

Raw milk production on farms (European Union - 27 countries)

Raw milk production on farms grew from 160.1 million tonnes in 2020 to 161.8 million tonnes in 2024.

160 million tonnes
Start
+0.26%
CAGR · 4y
162 million tonnes
Projected
20202024
source-verifiedec.europa.eu2024

04 Statistics

Technology & Innovation

AI and cloud adoption continue to widen in agrifood operations, with 73% of agri-food businesses adopting AI within the previous two years in 2024.

AI in the agrifood industry

  • 73% of agri-food businesses that had adopted AI had done so within the previous two years in 2024.[1]
  • 15% of farms in the United States and Canada reported using AI in 2026.[2]
  • 18% of agri-food companies developed their AI capabilities in-house in 2024.[1]
  • 45% of agri-food businesses used AI systems through external service providers in 2024.[1]

Automation in the agrifood industry

  • 70% of large U.S. crop-producing farms used guidance autosteering systems in 2023.[3]
  • 9% of small U.S. farms used guidance autosteering systems in 2023.[3]
  • 45% of large U.S. crop-producing farms used variable-rate technology in 2023.[3]
  • 52% of midsize U.S. crop-producing farms used guidance autosteering systems in 2023.[3]

Digital Transformation in the agriculture and food production sector (sector benchmark)

  • Among EU food-manufacturing enterprises, 3.4% had very high digital intensity in 2023, compared with 2.1% in 2021.[1]
  • Among EU food-manufacturing enterprises, 15.4% had high digital intensity in 2023, compared with 13.0% in 2021.[1]
  • In the United States, 61% of farmers reported adopting digital agronomy technologies in 2024.[4]
  • Across the EU agri-food industrial ecosystem, 20% of companies had a concrete digital-transformation strategy in 2024.[1]
  • Among EU food-manufacturing enterprises, 51.2% had very low digital intensity in 2023, down from 55.1% in 2021.[1]

Technology Adoption in the agriculture and food production sector (sector benchmark)

  • In Germany, 85.5% of surveyed farms used at least one digital technology in 2024–2025.[5]
  • In Canada, 84% of field-crop operations used GPS equipment in 2021.[5]
  • In Chile, 12% of agricultural production units reported using a technological tool such as mobile applications, drones, or sensors in 2021.[5]
  • Across EU farms with utilised agricultural area, about 18% used some form of precision-farming technology or practice in 2023.[5]
  • Across EU farms, 43% had internet access, 11% used farm-management information systems, and 7% used robotics in 2023.[5]
  • In Czechia, 30% of crop-production farmers used at least one precision-agriculture technology in 2023.[5]

Cloud Computing in the agriculture and food production sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across EU agri-food businesses, 26% used cloud computing in 2023.[1]
  • Among EU large businesses, 78% purchased cloud-computing services in 2023, compared with 44% of SMEs.[6]
  • Across EU agri-food businesses, 37% used cloud computing in 2024, up from 26% in 2023.[1]
  • Across EU businesses, 45% purchased cloud-computing services in 2023.[6]

Big Data in the agriculture and food production sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across EU agri-food businesses, 17% used big-data technologies in 2023.[1]
  • Across EU agri-food businesses, 307 startups focused on artificial intelligence and big data were formed between 2015 and 2023.[1]
  • Across EU agri-food businesses, 13% used big-data technologies in 2024, compared with 17% in 2023.[1]
  • In Germany, 5.0% of surveyed farms used artificial-intelligence or big-data technologies in 2024–2025.[5]

IoT in the agriculture and food production sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across EU farms with livestock, about 11% used animal-welfare or health-monitoring systems in 2023.[5]
  • Among agri-food companies investing more than 30% of annual turnover in digital technologies, 5.41% prioritised Internet of Things technologies in 2024.[1]
  • Across EU agri-food businesses, 10% used Internet of Things technologies in 2023.[1]

05 Statistics

Data & Analytics

Data quality and governance remain friction points for AI use, with 44% of manufacturing respondents reporting AI project failure because of poor data quality in 2025.

Business intelligence in the agrifood industry

  • 61% of U.S. farmers adopted digital agronomy technologies in 2024, according to McKinsey’s global farmer survey.[4]
  • 51% of U.S. farmers adopted precision-agriculture hardware in 2024.[4]
  • 38% of U.S. farmers adopted remote-sensing technologies in 2024.[4]

Data analytics in the agrifood industry

  • U.S. farm adoption of digital agriculture technologies was documented across 1996–2019 using the Agricultural Resource Management Survey.[3]
  • Latin American farmer technology adoption increased by 10 percentage points between 2022 and 2024 in McKinsey’s global survey.[4]
  • U.S. small family farms with gross cash farm income below $350,000 had the lowest adoption rates across each precision-agriculture technology category in 2022.[3]
  • Precision-agriculture technology adoption in the United States increased sharply with farm size in 2022, according to USDA analysis of farm-level data.[3]

Data Quality in the agriculture and food production sector (sector benchmark)

  • 42% of manufacturers reported having a process to verify operational data accuracy or quality in 2025, indicating that most lacked a formal validation process.[7]
  • 49% of manufacturing respondents rated their operational data as having low AI readiness in 2024, meaning it was insufficiently labeled, contextualized, governed or accessible.[7]
  • 44% of manufacturers reported that AI projects had failed because of poor data quality in 2025, according to a survey of manufacturing organizations.[8]
  • 30% of manufacturing respondents identified poor-quality data as one of their top three challenges when working with AI-related data in 2024.[7]
  • 41% of manufacturers said they distrusted the data used for supply-chain operations in 2025, reflecting persistent data-quality concerns in production and procurement.[8]

Data Governance in the agriculture and food production sector (sector benchmark)

  • 6% of food and beverage leaders reported fully integrated digital systems in 2025, despite 82% saying technology adoption was a strategic priority.[9]
  • 40% of food and beverage professionals worldwide identified disconnected systems and data as their biggest barrier to moving faster in 2026.[9]
  • 61% of supply-management organizations reported having a dedicated data-governance function in 2024, while 90% agreed that data governance was necessary.[10]
  • 69% of food and beverage companies still relied on spreadsheets and email for core operations in 2025, limiting standardized access and control of business data.[9]
  • 61% of manufacturers reported having a corporate-wide governance plan, strategy or formal guidelines for how data is collected, organized, accessed and used in 2024.[7]
  • 15% of manufacturers said their data strategy was entirely aligned with their overall business strategy in 2024, while 31% said it was very closely aligned.[7]

KPIs in the agrifood industry

  • CNH Industrial’s agriculture customer-satisfaction survey participation rate was 56.5% in North America in 2022.[11]
  • CNH Industrial’s agriculture customer-satisfaction index was 8.5 out of 10 in Europe in 2022.[11]
  • CNH Industrial’s agriculture customer-satisfaction index was 8.46 out of 10 in Latin America in 2022.[11]
  • CNH Industrial’s agriculture customer-satisfaction index was 9.5 out of 10 in North America in 2022.[11]

06 Statistics

Strategy & Growth

Growth is supported by emerging markets and productivity, while deal activity stayed active, including 189 North American agrifood transactions closed in 2024.

Growth in the agrifood industry

  • 68% of surveyed food and beverage businesses reported revenue growth in 2024, with most reporting average gains of 20%.[12]
  • The agrifood-technology market was projected to expand by about 8% annually over the five years following 2024.[13]
  • Publicly listed consumer packaged-goods companies generated average annual revenue growth of 9% during 2002–2012, a historical period analyzed for food and beverage strategy.[4]
  • The smart-agriculture market was valued at US$25.4 billion in 2024 and was projected to grow by more than 10% annually over the following years.[13]

Mergers and acquisitions in the agrifood industry

  • 19,521 agricultural-products-and-services transactions worth US$1.7 trillion were announced globally from 1985 through the first quarter of 2024.[14]
  • 165 U.S. food and beverage mergers and acquisitions closed in the second half of 2024, with combined disclosed value of US$40.8 billion.[15]
  • 189 North American agrifood transactions closed in 2024, with a median deal size of US$36 million.[16]
  • 847 agricultural-products-and-services mergers and acquisitions worth US$61.25 billion were announced globally in 2021.[14]

Strategic partnerships in the agrifood industry

  • More than US$1.8 billion was invested across over 30 World Bank-supported productive-alliance projects benefiting family farmers in Latin America and the Caribbean since 2002.[17]
  • The FAO Investment Centre supported ongoing agrifood investment projects totaling more than US$49.5 billion in 2024.[18]
  • 51 partner-approved agrifood projects in 36 countries generated US$7.3 billion in new public investment in 2024.[18]

07 Statistics

People & Workforce

Labor turnover stays high in food service contexts, with annual employee turnover in the U.S. restaurant industry approaching 80% in January 2024.

Hiring in the agrifood industry

  • Food-service managers in the United States recorded 113,075 separations in 2025.[19]
  • First-line food-preparation and serving supervisors in the United States recorded 638,398 separations in 2025.[19]
  • 72% of U.S. restaurant operators rated workforce recruitment and retention as their top challenge in 2020.[20]
  • U.S. restaurant cooks recorded 1,267,815 separations in 2025.[19]

Employee retention in the agrifood industry

  • Only 16% of British Columbia food-and-beverage workers had been in their position for more than eight years in 2025.[21]
  • Food and beverage workers in British Columbia had average tenure of 3.9 years in 2025.[21]
  • Annual employee turnover in the U.S. restaurant industry approached 80% in January 2024.[22]
  • The share of U.S. restaurant operators reporting turnover of at least 76% fell from 9% in mid-2024 to 6% in 2026.[23]

Remote Work in the agriculture and food production sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across U.S. agriculture and food employers, 35% offered some type of remote-work arrangement in 2024, according to AgCareers’ industry hiring report.[24]
  • Across U.S. accommodation and food services, 4.8% of workers worked remotely in 2021, up from 1.9% in 2019 and 5.3% in 2020.[25]
  • Across U.S. crop and animal production, 14.4% of workers worked remotely in 2021, compared with 14.7% in 2019 and 15.4% in 2020.[25]
  • Across U.S. agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, about 12% of workers worked remotely during October 2023–September 2024, including hybrid and fully remote work.[26]

Hybrid Work in the agriculture and food production sector (sector benchmark)

  • 35% of U.S. agriculture and food employers offered some type of remote-work arrangement in 2024.[24]
  • 44% of Australian FMCG and agribusiness professionals preferred part-time remote work in 2024.[27]
  • Among science-of-food professionals surveyed globally in 2024, respondents averaged 2.1 work-at-home days per week.[28]
  • Among science-of-food professionals surveyed in 2024, 36% reported having no work-at-home days per week.[28]
  • 21% of Australian FMCG and agribusiness professionals reported working fully remotely in 2024.[27]

Employee Engagement in the agriculture and food production sector (sector benchmark)

  • In the agriculture industry, employees averaged 7.68 out of 10 for engagement and an eNPS of +5 in CultureMonkey’s 2026 benchmark.[29]
  • Employees in manufacture, distribution and storage organizations scored 59.3% on leadership in People Insight’s global benchmark data.[30]
  • Employees in manufacture, distribution and storage organizations scored 60.9% on enablement in People Insight’s global benchmark data.[30]
  • At Europe Snacks, a multinational food manufacturer, employee engagement reached 79% across its international workforce and 88% in its UK business after a structured listening program.[30]
  • Manufacture, distribution and storage organizations recorded an average employee-engagement score of 72.9% in People Insight’s global benchmark data.[30]

DEI in the agrifood industry

  • Women accounted for 42% of the global agrifood-systems workforce, equal to about 1.37 billion people, in 2024.[31]
  • Women represented 27.2% of the U.S. farming workforce in 2024.[32]
  • Women represented 39.6% of the global agricultural workforce in 2025.[31]
  • Women represented 28% of U.S. crop and related support-industry laborers, compared with 20% in livestock, according to USDA data.[3]

Change Management in the agriculture and food production sector (sector benchmark)

  • Among food and beverage processors surveyed in 2020, 37% reported expansions, renovations or added capacity as structural changes.[33]
  • Among food and beverage processors surveyed in 2020, 31% reported changing elements of their supply chain as a structural change.[33]
  • Among food and beverage processors surveyed in 2020, 53% reported conducting safety-related training as a structural change.[33]
  • Among food and beverage processors surveyed in 2020, 40% reported changing a process as a structural change.[33]

08 Statistics

Customer & Sales

Convenience and loyalty reinforce repeat buying patterns, and 94% of North American grocers said fresh and prepared foods significantly drive customer loyalty in 2026.

Customer experience in the agrifood industry

  • 68% of North American consumers cited saving time among their top three reasons for buying prepared foods from a grocer in 2026.[4]
  • 42% of North American consumers were more likely to buy additional packaged items when purchasing fresh or prepared foods in 2026.[4]
  • 35% of North American consumers reported switching grocery stores because of dissatisfaction with fresh-food quality in 2026.[4]
  • 74% of North American consumers cited convenience among their top three reasons for buying prepared foods from a grocer in 2026.[4]

Customer retention in the agrifood industry

  • 28% of U.S. dairy consumers who switched brands returned to their original brand in 2020.[4]
  • 15% of U.S. dairy consumers who switched brands migrated entirely to the new brand in 2020.[4]
  • 73% of U.S. dairy consumers who tried a new brand during the pandemic either switched completely or continued buying both brands in 2020.[4]
  • 59% of U.S. dairy consumers who switched brands continued buying both the old and new brands in 2020.[4]

Customer acquisition in the agrifood industry

  • 45% of farmers who did not use online channels said they were open to doing so in the future.[4]
  • 25% of farmers surveyed had used online channels for agricultural purchases in the McKinsey survey.[4]
  • 31% of farmers globally used digital channels to research agricultural products in 2026.[4]
  • 36% of farmers globally used digital channels to evaluate and compare agricultural products in 2026.[4]

Customer loyalty in the agrifood industry

  • 94% of North American grocers said fresh and prepared foods significantly drive customer loyalty in 2026.[4]
  • More than 80% of North American grocers viewed loyalty programs as a primary engine of value delivery in 2026.[4]
  • Loyalty members redeeming personalized grocery offers spent 4.3 times more annually than nonredeemers in 2024.[4]
  • 65% of Australian grocery loyalty-program members used their program almost every shop in 2025.[4]

Lead generation in the agrifood industry

  • 31% of farmers globally used digital channels to research agricultural products in 2026, creating a measurable digital lead-generation pool for agribusiness suppliers.[4]
  • More than one-quarter of agricultural buyers aged 35 and younger purchased agricultural products online in the McKinsey survey.[4]
  • Nearly 60% of farmers aged 35 and younger said online ordering would be their preferred agricultural-purchasing route going forward.[4]

09 Statistics

Marketing & Brand

Digital and brand investment shows measurable reach, with 17,497,245 impressions generated by an EU agri-food awareness campaign producing 91,751 clicks.

Marketing in the agrifood industry

  • 35% of Irish agrifood businesses identified lower output prices for farmers as a major growth challenge.[34]
  • 17,497,245 impressions were generated by an EU agri-food awareness campaign, which also produced 91,751 clicks.[35]
  • 4–18% of German farmers practiced direct marketing in 2020, mainly through farm shops, farm-gate sales or weekly markets.[36]
  • 63% of Irish agrifood businesses identified the cost and availability of inputs as their greatest growth threat over the following 12 months.[34]

Digital marketing in the agrifood industry

  • 24% of businesses in the EU agri-food industrial ecosystem had adopted Internet of Things technology in 2024.[1]
  • 22% of businesses in the EU agri-food industrial ecosystem had adopted artificial intelligence in 2024.[1]
  • 3,291 commercial farmers in China were included in a study examining how e-marketing and branding interact to affect agricultural business performance.[37]
  • 37% of businesses in the EU agri-food industrial ecosystem had adopted cloud technology in 2024.[1]

Branding in the agrifood industry

  • 82 million Facebook followers were reported for McDonald’s in 2025, illustrating the scale of a leading global food brand’s social presence.[38]
  • 70% of food and beverage companies’ product and brand positioning was described as shifting toward health, nutrition or quality themes in a 2025 industry review.[39]
  • 70% of Nestlé products reportedly contained fewer than 100 calories per serving during its nutrition-focused brand repositioning.[39]
  • 3,291 commercial farmers in China were surveyed in research on the interaction between branding, e-marketing and agricultural business performance.[37]

Social media in the agrifood industry

  • 4–18% of German farmers practiced direct marketing in 2020, with digital direct marketing described as the exception.[36]
  • 5 million people were reached by a network of 24 agricultural influencers operating across 11 African countries in 2025.[40]
  • 29% of Canadian growers who regularly use social media use Instagram, according to 2025 crop-industry data.[41]
  • 91,751 clicks were generated by an EU social-media campaign promoting the first EU Agri-Food Days event.[35]

Influencer Marketing in the agriculture and food production sector (sector benchmark)

  • Food and drink influencer content produced an estimated $122 billion in earned media value globally in 2023.[42]
  • Food and drink influencer content involved 78,800 profiles globally in 2023, based on Sprout Social’s benchmark dataset.[42]
  • 11.5 million influencer posts covered food and drink globally in 2023, according to Sprout Social’s benchmark dataset.[42]
  • Food and drink influencer content generated 42.7 billion engagements globally in 2023.[42]
  • Food and drink influencer posts achieved a 1.19% average engagement rate globally in 2023.[42]

10 Statistics

Operations & Execution

Operational loss remains material across the chain, with 13.3% of food lost globally after harvest and before retail in 2023.

Process optimization in the agrifood industry

  • 6% of businesses in the EU agri-food industrial ecosystem had adopted edge computing in 2024.[1]
  • 20% of businesses in the EU agri-food industrial ecosystem had adopted robotics in 2024.[1]
  • 13% of businesses in the EU agri-food industrial ecosystem had adopted big-data technology in 2024.[1]
  • 5% of businesses in the EU agri-food industrial ecosystem had adopted blockchain technology in 2024.[1]

Operational efficiency in the agrifood industry

  • 10.0% of food was lost between harvest and retail in Northern America and Europe in 2023.[31]
  • 23.0% of food was lost between harvest and retail in sub-Saharan Africa in 2023.[31]
  • 25.4% of globally produced fruit and vegetables were lost between harvest and retail in 2023.[31]
  • 13.3% of global food production was lost between harvest and retail in 2023, according to FAO’s food-loss measure.[31]

Quality management in the agrifood industry

  • 13.3% of food was lost globally after harvest and before retail in 2023, indicating continuing quality and handling losses across the agrifood chain.[31]
  • 24% of businesses in the EU agri-food industrial ecosystem had adopted Internet of Things technology in 2024, supporting monitoring and traceability applications.[1]
  • 22% of businesses in the EU agri-food industrial ecosystem had adopted artificial intelligence in 2024, including applications in prediction and process optimisation.[1]

Supply chain in the agrifood industry

  • 8.4% of cereals and pulses were lost globally between harvest and retail in 2023.[31]
  • 14.0% of meat and animal products were lost globally between harvest and retail in 2023.[31]
  • 13.3% of food was lost globally after harvest and before retail in 2023.[31]
  • 13.9% of food was lost in Eastern and Southeastern Asia in 2023.[31]

Outsourcing / Offshoring in the agriculture and food production sector (sector benchmark)

  • 85% of Canadian food and beverage companies processed or manufactured products internally in 2020, while 13% both produced internally and outsourced production.[43]
  • 2% of Canadian food and beverage companies outsourced production entirely to third-party manufacturers in 2020.[43]
  • 49% of U.S. growers surveyed outsourced at least some farm work to third-party service providers in 2022, with spraying services the most commonly outsourced activity.[44]
  • 66% of Queensland food-processing businesses engaged in contract manufacturing to some extent in 2010, including contracting work in or out.[45]
  • 19% of surveyed Queensland food-processing businesses contracted work out in 2010, while 28% contracted work in and 15% did both.[45]

11 Statistics

Finance & Pricing

Margins diverge by segment and cost pressure persists, including agriculture and farming net margin of about 4.0% in 2026 and estimated impacts from input-cost rises.

Pricing strategy in the agrifood industry

  • 35% of Irish agrifood businesses cited lower output prices for farmers as a growth challenge.[34]
  • 63% of Irish agrifood businesses cited input cost and availability as their greatest growth threat for the following 12 months.[34]
  • A 10% increase in input costs was estimated to consume more than 130% of gross profit at typical food-processor margins without repricing.[46]
  • A 10% increase in input costs was estimated to consume roughly 15% of gross profit at branded-manufacturer margins without repricing.[46]

Cost reduction in the agrifood industry

  • 13.3% of global food production was lost after harvest and before retail in 2023, representing a major cost-reduction opportunity across agrifood supply chains.[31]
  • Only USD 0.1 billion was invested annually in food-loss and waste reduction during 2019–2020, compared with estimated annual needs of USD 48–50 billion.[31]
  • 23.0% of food was lost in sub-Saharan Africa between harvest and retail in 2023.[31]
  • 25.4% of fruits and vegetables were lost globally between harvest and retail in 2023.[31]

Profitability in the agrifood industry

  • Alcoholic beverages had an estimated EBITDA margin of approximately 29.5% in 2026.[13]
  • Agriculture and farming had an estimated net margin of approximately 4.0% in 2026.[13]
  • Soft drinks had an estimated EBITDA margin of approximately 22.8% in 2026.[13]
  • Agriculture and farming had an estimated EBITDA margin of approximately 8.0% in 2026.[13]
  • 71% of U.S. farms were in the high-risk operating-profit-margin category in 2024, with an operating profit margin below 10%.[3]

Financial planning in the agrifood industry

  • The median household operating a large-scale U.S. family farm earned $410,756 in 2024.[3]
  • 23% of U.S. farms held debt in 2022, according to Agricultural Resource Management Survey data.[3]
  • More than half a trillion dollars of total farm-sector debt was expected in the United States in 2024.[3]
  • 86% of U.S. farms were small family farms with gross cash farm income below $350,000 in 2024.[3]
  • Average net cash farm income for U.S. farm businesses was forecast at $121,700 for 2026, up 7.1% nominally from 2025.[3]

12 Statistics

Product & Service

Innovation investment plans are common in packaged food, with 76% of food and beverage brands planning to increase innovation investment in 2024.

Product development in the agrifood industry

  • 76% of food and beverage brands planned to increase innovation investment in 2024, according to a survey of 261 brands.[9]
  • 51% of surveyed food and beverage brands cited competitiveness as a reason for increasing new-product-development spending in 2024.[9]
  • 83% of food and beverage brands planned to increase new-product-development spending in 2025, based on a global industry survey.[47]
  • More than 70% of surveyed food and beverage manufacturers handled concept ideation, ingredient selection and recipe formulation in-house in 2024.[9]

Product lifecycle in the agrifood industry

  • Agriculture, forestry and fishing generated approximately 23 million tonnes of waste in the EU in 2022.[6]
  • EU food and beverage processing waste was approximately 33.5 million tonnes in 2020.[6]
  • 32.2 million tonnes of waste were generated by EU food and beverage processing in 2022.[6]
  • Food and beverage processing waste in the EU fell from approximately 38 million tonnes in 2012 to 32.2 million tonnes in 2022.[6]

After-sales in the agrifood industry

  • 19% of surveyed Australian agricultural-machinery purchasers used only dealers for servicing and repairs.[48]
  • 56% of Australian agricultural-machinery purchasers rated ease of servicing or repair as very important when choosing a brand.[49]
  • CNH Industrial processed 49,833 agriculture customer-support contacts in North America in 2022.[11]
  • 70% of Australian agricultural-machinery purchasers rated customer service as very important when choosing a brand in the ACCC survey.[49]

Value proposition in the agrifood industry

  • 26% of food-purchase value points were allocated to taste by U.S. consumers in August 2025.[50]
  • 8% of food-purchase value points were allocated to environmental impact by U.S. consumers in August 2025.[50]
  • 24% of food-purchase value points were allocated to affordability by U.S. consumers in August 2025.[50]
  • 22% of food-purchase value points were allocated to nutrition by U.S. consumers in August 2025.[50]

13 Statistics

Sustainability & Ethics

Emissions continue to constrain execution, with agrifood systems emitting 18.5 billion tonnes of CO2-equivalent in 2024.

Sustainability in the agrifood industry

  • 48% of global agrifood-system emissions came from crop and livestock activities within the farm gate in 2022.[31]
  • 16.2 billion tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions came from global agrifood systems in 2022.[31]
  • 29.7% of global greenhouse-gas emissions were attributable to agrifood systems in 2022.[31]
  • Agrifood-system emissions intensity was 2.6 kilograms of CO2-equivalent per international dollar globally in 2022.[31]

Ethics in the agrifood industry

  • 35% of U.S. consumers rated ethical sourcing as medium-high or high importance in the 2025 food trends survey.[51]
  • 37,000 consumers in 40 countries were surveyed about environmental sustainability claims on food products in 2025.[5]
  • 46% of U.S. consumers rated animal welfare as medium-high or high importance in the 2025 food trends survey.[51]

CSR in the agrifood industry

  • 136 agrifood firms were included in BloombergNEF’s analysis of corporate sustainability targets and commitments in 2024.[52]
  • 33% of global agrifood-system emissions came from pre- and post-production activities along the supply chain in 2022.[31]

Circular economy in the agrifood industry

  • 58 million tonnes of food waste were generated in the EU27 plus Norway in 2023.[53]
  • 79.7 million tonnes of packaging waste were generated in the EU in 2023.[6]
  • 14.5 million tonnes of food waste were collected in the EU27 plus Norway in 2023.[53]
  • 24.9% of food waste generated in the EU27 plus Norway was captured through separate collection schemes in 2023.[53]

Carbon footprint in the agrifood industry

  • 7.8 billion tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions came from farm-gate crop and livestock activities globally in 2022.[31]
  • 5.3 billion tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions came from pre- and post-production agrifood activities globally in 2022.[31]
  • Global agrifood-system emissions increased 10% between 2000 and 2022.[31]
  • 3.1 billion tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions came from agrifood-related land-use change globally in 2022.[31]

15 Statistics

Globalization & Expansion

Trade and cross-border sourcing stay central, and agriculture accounted for 8% of total global merchandise trade value in 2023.

Globalization in the agrifood industry

  • Agriculture represented 8% of total global merchandise trade value in 2023, up from 7% in 2010.[31]
  • $1.7 trillion was the value of global agricultural exports in 2023, 1.7 times the nominal value recorded in 2010.[31]
  • €410.9 billion was the value of EU agricultural-product trade with non-EU countries in 2023, down 3.2% from 2022.[6]
  • 17% of world agro-food exports came from the European Union in 2021–2023, with beverages and spirits, cereal preparations, and dairy among its leading products.[5]

Supplier management in the agrifood industry

  • 7% of U.S. farms used marketing or production contracts to manage commodity disposition in 2020, down from 13% in 1996.[3]
  • 44% of the value of U.S. farm production under contract came from large-scale family farms in 2020, although they represented 3% of all farms.[3]
  • 38% of surveyed fruit farmers reported that their relationship with their main buyer had lasted more than 10 years.[59]
  • 27.27% of surveyed fruit farmers identified private traders as their main buyers, while 25.76% identified producer organizations in the study sample.[59]

Stakeholder management in the agrifood industry

  • Producer organizations participating in productive alliances recorded a 50% average increase in sales in evaluated projects in Bolivia, Brazil and Colombia.[17]
  • Productive alliances generated financial internal rates of return ranging from 18% to 25% in evaluated agrifood projects.[17]
  • More than 1.6 million family farmers in Latin America and the Caribbean benefited from over 30 World Bank-supported productive-alliance projects since 2002.[17]
  • Family farmers participating in evaluated productive alliances recorded a 22% average increase in income in Bolivia, Brazil and Colombia.[17]

Distribution channels in the agrifood industry

  • 56.2% of U.S. food-at-home expenditure went through grocery stores in 2025, compared with 26.4% through warehouse clubs and supercenters.[3]
  • Grocery ecommerce accounted for 11.8% of total U.S. grocery sales in 2023, almost twice its share in 2019.[60]
  • U.S. grocery ecommerce sales grew at a 26.4% compound annual rate between 2019 and 2023, reaching US$206.8 billion in 2023.[60]
  • The 20 largest U.S. food retailers accounted for 65.2% of food sales at supermarkets, grocery stores, warehouse clubs and supercenters in 2022.[3]

Key questions about the agrifood industry

What is the latest available market size for agriculture in value added terms?
Global agricultural value added reached $4.2 trillion in 2024, the latest available global measure, up from $4.1 trillion in 2023.
How fast is global agricultural production projected to grow over the next decade?
The OECD-FAO 2026–2035 outlook projects global agricultural and aquatic-food production to expand by 13% over the decade, implying about 1.2% annualized growth from the cumulative increase.
Which companies lead the agrifood industry?
Cargill stands out for connecting farmers and food producers globally because it operates across food, agriculture and commodity processing and commodity trading, while Bunge focuses on oilseed processing, grains and agribusiness since it reported revenue growth of 32.5% alongside an operating margin of 2.2%.
Where is technology adoption showing measurable momentum in agrifood operations?
AI adoption has accelerated, with 73% of agri-food businesses adopting AI within the previous two years in 2024, while 26% of EU agri-food businesses used cloud computing in 2023 and 37% used it in 2024.
How is the industry structured across activities from inputs to retail?
The industry spans crops, livestock, fisheries and aquaculture, plus processing, distribution, retail and food service.
What regulatory traceability timeline matters for businesses handling foods on the Food Traceability List?
The U.S. FDA Food Traceability Rule requires additional records, with Congress directing FDA not to enforce before July 20, 2028, despite the original compliance date of January 20, 2026.
Reference

Cite This Report

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APA
Samuel Norberg. (2026, November 11). Agrifood Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/agrifood-industry-statistics
MLA
Samuel Norberg. "Agrifood Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 11 Nov 2026, https://gitnux.org/agrifood-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Samuel Norberg. 2026. "Agrifood Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/agrifood-industry-statistics.

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