About 25 percent of the Danish food product and agriculture companies have already completely or partially outsourced production abroad in recent years.

Now, a new survey by the agricultural advocacy organisation Landbrug og Fødevarer (L&F) showed that another 25 percent are considering doing the same. Up to 40,000 of the 170,000 jobs in the Danish agricultural industry are at stake.

“The figures are quite dramatic,” Thomas Søby, the chief economist with L&F, told Jyllands-Posten newspaper. “The jobs rarely return once they’ve moved out and only a wealthy society can afford to just accept it.”

The companies list several reasons as to why they are considering outsourcing – the most common being the high Danish wages and expenses, as well as a lack of qualified labour and an access to foreign markets.

READ MORE: 2,000 Danish farmers facing bankruptcy

Farmers struggling
And the news only gets worse for the Danish agriculture sector.

According to new agriculture figures, one third of Denmark’s 11,000 full-time farms are threatened by bankruptcy and the number of foreclosures are at their highest level in 22 years.

The problem has be compounded by low prices on pork and milk – due to the Russian trade embargo and fewer milk imports to China – while plant producers are generally faring better.