EU Agricultural Prices Decline in First Quarter of 2024
Source: The DairyNews
Agricultural Prices in the EU See Significant Decrease in Early 2024
In the first quarter of 2024, agricultural prices in the EU experienced notable declines in both outputs and inputs not related to investment, according to a Eurostat market report. The average price of agricultural output dropped by 6% compared to the same period in 2023, while the average price of goods and services currently consumed in agriculture fell by 11%.
Following a period of sharp price increases in 2021 and the first three quarters of 2022, the growth rate slowed, and prices began to decline. The recent decreases bring prices closer to pre-disruption levels. Price changes for various agricultural outputs in early 2024 were diverse and contrasting, with some sectors experiencing significant drops. Cereals saw a particularly steep decline of 28%, milk prices fell by 12%, and prices for eggs and industrial crops (such as oilseeds, protein crops, raw tobacco, and sugar beet) dropped by 10%. Fresh vegetable prices decreased by 6%, including a 33% fall in tomato prices.
Conversely, the average price of potatoes rose by 22%, and fresh fruit prices increased by 20%, despite a 44% reduction in the price of lemons and limes, partly due to the anticipated impact of adverse weather on harvests.
Among non-investment inputs, the sharpest price declines were seen in fertilizers and soil improvers (-31%), animal feed (-16%), and energy and lubricants (-12%).
National Variations in Price Trends
At the national level, 21 of the 25 EU countries with available data reported a decrease in agricultural output prices in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. Hungary experienced the steepest decline (-24%), followed by Bulgaria and Romania (both -18%), and Slovakia and Czechia (both -17%).
In contrast, five southern EU countries saw price increases, with Greece leading (+20%), and more modest rises in Malta and Spain (+4%), and Portugal and Cyprus (+1%). Regarding non-investment inputs, 24 of the 25 EU countries with available data reported decreases, with the sharpest declines in Croatia (-20%), Hungary (-19%), and the Netherlands and Ireland (both -17%). Portugal was the only country to record an increase (+2%).
Following a period of sharp price increases in 2021 and the first three quarters of 2022, the growth rate slowed, and prices began to decline. The recent decreases bring prices closer to pre-disruption levels. Price changes for various agricultural outputs in early 2024 were diverse and contrasting, with some sectors experiencing significant drops. Cereals saw a particularly steep decline of 28%, milk prices fell by 12%, and prices for eggs and industrial crops (such as oilseeds, protein crops, raw tobacco, and sugar beet) dropped by 10%. Fresh vegetable prices decreased by 6%, including a 33% fall in tomato prices.
Conversely, the average price of potatoes rose by 22%, and fresh fruit prices increased by 20%, despite a 44% reduction in the price of lemons and limes, partly due to the anticipated impact of adverse weather on harvests.
Among non-investment inputs, the sharpest price declines were seen in fertilizers and soil improvers (-31%), animal feed (-16%), and energy and lubricants (-12%).
National Variations in Price Trends
At the national level, 21 of the 25 EU countries with available data reported a decrease in agricultural output prices in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. Hungary experienced the steepest decline (-24%), followed by Bulgaria and Romania (both -18%), and Slovakia and Czechia (both -17%).
In contrast, five southern EU countries saw price increases, with Greece leading (+20%), and more modest rises in Malta and Spain (+4%), and Portugal and Cyprus (+1%). Regarding non-investment inputs, 24 of the 25 EU countries with available data reported decreases, with the sharpest declines in Croatia (-20%), Hungary (-19%), and the Netherlands and Ireland (both -17%). Portugal was the only country to record an increase (+2%).
