Agricultural producer prices fell by 12.3% in April 2026 compared to the same month in 2025. Prior month reports showed a decline of 8.8% in March 2026 and 10.9% in February 2026. According to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), producer prices for agricultural products dropped by 1.5% from March 2026 to April 2026.
Looking at the year-on-year figures, prices for plant products saw a substantial decrease of 12.1%, while prices for animals and animal products declined by an even greater margin of 12.4%. In the comparison period between March and April 2026, the trends for plant and animal goods moved in opposite directions. Plant product prices saw a drop of 4.2%, whereas prices for animals and animal products rose slightly by 0.1%.
The significant 12.1% drop in plant product prices compared to last year is partly attributed to reduced prices for potatoes. Potato prices were 54.7% lower in April 2026 than in April 2025. This continued a downward trend from previous months, with year-on-year changes of -55.2% in March 2026 and -54.2% in February 2026. However, in the month-on-month transition from March to April 2026, potato prices remained unchanged (0.0%).
Other vegetable and fruit prices also experienced drops. Producer prices for fruits were 24.3% lower in April 2026 than a year ago, driven partly by table apples, which fell by 33.3%. Overall, vegetable prices declined by 1.8% within the year, with cabbage (-15.8%) and lettuce (-13.0%) being the most affordable. Conversely, tomatoes and cucumbers saw price increases of 58.2% and 10.7%, respectively.
Grain prices were 11.7% lower in April 2026 compared to April 2025. Overall prices for commercial crops were 0.6% lower. Rapeseed also decreased by 0.9% year-on-year. While feed crop prices continued to fall by 7.1% compared to the previous year, wine prices surprisingly increased by 1.7% over the same period.
The 12.4% year-on-year decrease in prices for animals and their products is largely linked to falling milk prices, which were 26.2% lower in April 2026 than in April 2025. In fact, on a month-on-month basis, milk prices rose by 1.6% in April 2026 over March 2026. Meanwhile, egg prices increased by 13.0% over the past year.
Prices for livestock were 3.6% lower in April 2026 compared to April 2025, primarily due to a 11.6% drop in pig meat prices. In contrast, beef prices rose by 4.2%. Poultry prices increased by 2.6% over the previous year, led by an 8.0% rise in other poultry (ducks and turkeys). However, chicken prices saw a small decline of 0.9% during the same period.
