According to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), producer prices for agricultural goods saw a significant decline in March 2026 compared to March 2025, dropping by 8.8 percent. Historically, the month showed declining trends, with February 2026 prices down 10.9 percent and January 2026 down 10.0 percent compared to the previous year. However, producer prices generally rebounded in March 2026, increasing by 2.1 percent compared to February 2026.
Analyzing the sector breakdown, prices for plant products fell by 8.0 percent in March 2026 compared to the previous year, while prices for animals and animal products decreased by 9.3 percent. Notably, for the first time this month, both plant products (up 1.4 percent) and animals/animal products (up 2.5 percent) saw price increases compared to the preceding month.
The 8.0 percent drop in plant product prices year-on-year was largely influenced by falling prices for potatoes, which were 55.2 percent lower in March 2026 than in March 2025 (following declines of 54.2 percent in February and 49.8 percent in January).
Other plant sectors showed significant volatility. Producer prices for fruit fell by 31.2 percent compared to a year ago, driven partly by table apples which dropped by 33.0 percent. In contrast, vegetable prices surprisingly rose by 19.3 percent year-on-year. This increase was fueled by cucumbers (up 31.9 percent), lettuce (up 20.3 percent), and tomatoes (up 14.9 percent). However, cabbage continued to see price declines, dropping 17.3 percent. Wine prices, on the other hand, increased by 1.8 percent over the previous year.
In grain, prices were cheaper by 14.2 percent compared to March 2025, and feed crop prices continued their downward trend, falling 6.2 percent year-on-year. For market crops overall, prices were 0.9 percent higher than a year ago in March 2026-marking the first price increase since September 2024 (+10.4 percent compared to September 2023). Rapeseed prices also rose by 2.5 percent compared to the previous year.
The 9.3 percent decline in prices for animals and animal products was attributed, in part, to falling milk prices, which dropped 27.0 percent compared to the previous year (and also fell 0.7 percent compared to February 2026). Egg prices, however, rose by 13.8 percent year-on-year.
Producer prices for animals rose 3.6 percent in March 2026 compared to March 2025, primarily due to a 13.3 percent increase in cattle prices. Conversely, prices for pigs dropped by 3.6 percent. Poultry prices were 3.9 percent higher than the previous year, largely due to price increases in miscellaneous poultry (ducks and geese) of 9.7 percent. Chicken prices saw only a slight increase of 0.2 percent.