EU agricultural prices fall in first quarter of 2024

After a period of sharp increases in agricultural prices in 2021 and the first three quarters of 2022, the pace of increases has since slowed and prices have begun to decline. The recent decline in agricultural production and input costs is approaching the more subdued levels seen before the crisis.

Changes in prices for many types of agricultural products in the first quarter of 2024 were varied and contrasting. A particularly sharp decline was observed in the average price of grain, which fell by 28%. The price of MILK fell by 12%, eggs and industrial crops (oilseeds, protein crops, raw tobacco, SUGAR beets and others) fell by 12%. 10%, and fresh vegetables - by 6% (with a particularly sharp drop in prices for tomatoes amounting to 33%).

In contrast, the average price of potatoes rose by 22% and fresh fruit by 20% (despite a sharp 44% decline in lemon and lime prices), partly in response to the expected impact of adverse weather conditions on harvested volumes.

Among non-investment resources, the sharpest price declines were recorded for fertilizers and soil improvers (-31%), animal feed (-16%), and energy and lubricants (-12%).

Quarterly prices fell in most EU countries

At the national level, most EU countries (21 out of 25 according to available data) recorded a decline in agricultural prices in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same quarter of 2023. The sharpest price declines were recorded in Hungary (-24%), Bulgaria and Romania (both -18%), and Slovakia and the Czech Republic (both -17%).

In contrast, prices rose in the 5 southern EU countries; they rose most sharply in Greece (+20%), while more modest increases were recorded in Malta and Spain (+4%), as well as in Portugal and Cyprus (+1%).

In terms of non-investment inputs (such as energy, fertiliser or feed), 24 out of 25 EU countries with available data recorded a decline in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the first quarter of 2023. The steepest declines were observed in Croatia (-20%), Hungary (-19%), the Netherlands and Ireland (both -17%). Portugal was the only EU country to record an increase (+2%).