According to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), the producer prices for agricultural products recorded an 8.8 percent decrease in March 2026 compared to the same month in the previous year. Looking at the trend of change, prices were down 10.9 percent in February 2026 and down 10.0 percent in January 2026. However, the sector showed an uptick in March 2026, rising by 2.1 percent compared to February 2026.
For plant goods, Destatis reported an 8.0 percent drop in prices in March 2026 year-on-year. Although both plant goods (up 1.4 percent) and animal products (up 2.5 percent) saw price increases compared to the previous month, the overall decline in plant goods was largely attributed to falling potato prices. Potatoes fell 55.2 percent in March 2026 compared to March 2025. For context, the year-on-year fall for potatoes was -54.2 percent in February 2026, and -49.8 percent in January 2026. Furthermore, potato prices fell month-over-month by 2.3 percent.
Other produce saw significant fluctuation. Fruit prices dropped 31.2 percent year-on-year, with table apples seeing a substantial decline of 33.0 percent. Vegetable prices, however, rose 19.3 percent year-on-year; this increase was driven by cucumbers (+31.9 percent), lettuce (+20.3 percent), and tomatoes (+14.9 percent). In contrast, some cabbages were cheaper, falling by 17.3 percent. Wine prices registered an increase of 1.8 percent compared to March 2025.
In the grain sector, wheat prices were 14.2 percent lower in March 2026 than in March 2025. Fodder plant prices also continued to decline, falling 6.2 percent year-on-year. Overall commercial crop prices increased slightly by 0.9 percent compared to a year earlier. This represents the first price increase since September 2024 (+10.4 percent versus September 2023). Rapeseed, meanwhile, increased in price by 2.5 percent compared to the previous year.
Regarding animal products, the overall price drop of 9.3 percent year-on-year was linked partly to declines in milk prices. Milk prices fell 27.0 percent in March 2026 compared to the previous year, and they also fell month-over-month by 0.7 percent. However, egg prices saw a sharp increase of 13.8 percent year-on-year.
Looking closer at specific animal categories, the price of cattle rose by 13.3 percent, making the overall price for cattle goods 3.6 percent higher in March 2026 than in March 2025. Conversely, prices for pigs decreased by 3.6 percent. Poultry prices increased by 3.9 percent year-on-year, primarily due to a 9.7 percent price jump in miscellaneous poultry (ducks and geese). Chicken prices saw a minor increase of 0.2 percent.
