Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1480113
4 NEWS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 28 SEPTEMBER 2022 4 NEWS WHEN compared to the previous year, provisional annual estimates for 2021 indi- cate that the output generated by the agri- cultural sector registered an increase of 0.3 per cent to a total of €121.5 million. On account of an increase in the inter- mediate consumption of 7.2 per cent that was higher than the increase in output, the gross value added fell by 8.3 per cent to €48.9 million. The expenditure associated with the de- preciation of fixed capital used by the sec- tor decreased by 5.9 per cent to a total of €6.9 million, whereas the total wage bill paid by the agricultural holdings to their workers for their labour input increased by 3.7 per cent to €5.4 million. During 2021, financial assistance re- ceived by the sector decreased by 4.8 per cent when compared to the amount dis- tributed during the preceding year. In to- tal, support coming through EU-funded programmes and COVID-19 related Gov- ernment assistance amounted to €28.1 million. Accordingly, the net operating surplus of the sector declined by 8.0 per cent to €64.7 million. Moreover, when considering the nega- tive net property income of €1.0 million recorded by the same holdings during 2021, the resulting net entrepreneurial in- come attributable to this sector decreased by 8.0 per cent to €63.7 million. The decreases in agricultural output arose from a decline in both the secondary agricultural activities as well as livestock meat products of 3.3 and 2.7 per cent re- spectively. On the contrary, the output generated through animal-derived prod- ucts increased by 5.7 per cent, whereas the output of crop products remained relative- ly unchanged. Intermediate consumption, which adds up the specific expenses recorded by the sector registered increases in livestock feeding stuffs, crop cultivation costs and various other expenses of 13.4, 4.7 and 2.4 per cent respectively. These were, howev- er, partially offset by a decline in the ener- gy and fuel costs of 2.7 per cent . Agricultural output rose by 0.3% in 2021, gross value added down 8.3% Munchies murder: CCTV installer who phoned accused after arrest was 'just returning a call' 1 Kindly indicate source when quoting from this release. The advance release calendar may be consulted at www.nso.gov.mt Issued by: Dissemination Unit, National Statistics Office, Lascaris, Valletta VLT 2000, Malta. T. +356 2599 7219 F. +356 2599 7205 E. nso@gov.mt 27 September 2022 | 1100 hrs | 170/2022 Economic Accounts for Agriculture: 2021 https://twitter.com/NSOMALTA/ https://www.facebook.com/nsomalta/ Compiled by: Environment, Agriculture and Fisheries Statistics Unit Contact us: National Statistics Office, Lascaris, Valletta VLT 2000 T. +356 25997219, E. nso@gov.mt When compared to the previous year, provisional annual estimates for 2021 indicate that the output generated by the agricultural sector registered an increase of 0.3 per cent to a total of €121.5 million. On account of an increase in the intermediate consumption of 7.2 per cent that was higher than the increase in output, the gross value added fell by 8.3 per cent to €48.9 million. The expenditure associated with the depreciation of fixed capital used by the sector decreased by 5.9 per cent to a total of €6.9 million, whereas the total wage bill paid by the agricultural holdings to their workers for their labour input increased by 3.7 per cent to €5.4 million (Table 1). During 2021, financial assistance received by the sector decreased by 4.8 per cent when compared to the amount distributed during the preceding year. In total, support coming through EU-funded programmes and COVID-19 related Government assistance amounted to €28.1 million. Accordingly, the net operating surplus of the sector declined by 8.0 per cent to €64.7 million. Moreover, when considering the negative net property income of €1.0 million recorded by the same holdings during 2021, the resulting net entrepreneurial income attributable to this sector decreased by 8.0 per cent to €63.7 million (Table 1). The decreases in agricultural output arose from a decline in both the secondary agricultural activities as well as livestock meat products of 3.3 and 2.7 per cent respectively. On the contrary, the output generated through animal-derived products increased by 5.7 per cent, whereas the output of crop products remained relatively unchanged (Table 2). Intermediate consumption, which adds up the specific expenses recorded by the sector registered increases in livestock feeding stuffs, crop cultivation costs and various other expenses of 13.4, 4.7 and 2.4 per cent respectively. These were, however, partially offset by a decline in the energy and fuel costs of 2.7 per cent (Table 3) During 2021, the total agricultural output increased by 0.3 per cent while the corresponding gross value added fell by 8.3 per cent over the previous year. Chart 1. Output, intermediate consumption and gross value added in agricultural activities by year 0 200 400 600 800 1,000 1,200 1,400 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 € thousands year Output (at producer prices) Intermediate consumption Gross value added Output, intermediate consumption and gross value added in agricultural activities by year MATTHEW AGIUS A technician who installed a CCTV system at Munchies Bar has testified that he called bar owner David Busuttil in re- sponse to a message the latter had left him. The call to Busuttil was made while the latter was under arrest and being interrogated in con- nection with the death of an el- derly man. The technician told the court that Busuttil would frequently call him for assistance and he was simply returning the call. Busuttil, 59, the owner of Munchies Bar in Buġibba, stands charged with the mur- der of 60-year-old Roger Dud- ley-Ward, who died after falling down the bar's stairs following an argument with the accused. Busuttil is also charged with causing serious injury, at- tempting to erase evidence and breaching the public peace. He is currently on bail, having been re- leased from arrest during the first sitting following his arraignment. During the last sitting, a police sergeant had told the court how Busuttil's phone had started to ring whilst he was in custody at the Qawra police station. "When I checked who was call- ing him, I saw it was a contact saved as 'Mark Genovese CCTV cameras,'" the sergeant had said. Genovese had then been called in for questioning by the police and had later released a state- ment. When the case was called be- fore Magistrate Doreen Clarke on Tuesday, the prosecution summoned Genovese, who in- stalls CCTV and alarm systems for a living, to the witness stand. Genovese said he had been in the CCTV business for over 10 years and recognised the ac- cused in court, explaining that he had also worked on his alarm systems earlier this year. Asked whether Busuttil had communicated with him since March, he said he wasn't sure. "I don't know, he calls me to turn off the fire alarm, or because he didn't know how to switch on the alarm. Last time, I received a message which read 'when I wake up I will call him'." The witness was shown a print out of a chat between him and the accused that had been pho- tographed on his mobile phone by a police officer. He confirmed that the chat had taken place on 11 June. He said he was replying to a message received from the ac- cused. "I called him as soon as I woke up. No one replied. It was switched on, but no one picked up. Five minutes later I got a call from the police headquarters, telling me that they're calling me because I called the number and asking me to go to HQ." Genovese continued: "I was asked how I know him, why he messaged me. I didn't know why he messaged me. I saw the mes- sage and returned the call. I was instructed not to speak to him [by the police] and I haven't spo- ken to him since." Cross-examined by lawyer Franco Debono, the witness confirmed that Busuttil would frequently call him up for assis- tance. "He was still green when it came to these things. He didn't even know how to switch on the alarm, every week he'd call me up about something," the wit- ness said. The court pointed out that the calls appeared to have mainly been made during the night. This was because the fire alarm would go off and Busuttil would not know how to switch it off, explained the witness. Later on, in the sitting, the court upheld a request by the defence to release the restaurant from the custody of the court, in view of the fact that the prosecu- tion had not objected. The magistrate authorised the court-appointed expert to hand over the keys. Lawyers Franco Debono and Marion Camilleri are defence counsel to the accused. Prosecutor Abigail Caruana Vella appeared on behalf of the office of the Attorney General. Inspector Ryan Vella appeared for the prosecution.