German food industry grows by 3.4 percent in real terms
Pork will be 16 percent cheaper, beef 27 percent more expensive than last year
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The German food industry recorded price-adjusted sales growth of 3.4% in December 2025 compared to the same month in the previous year. Price-adjusted sales abroad also rose by 3.9%. Domestic sales rose by 3.1% compared to the previous month. Overall, food manufacturers achieved a nominal turnover of 19.7 billion euros, which corresponds to an increase of 3.0% compared to the same month last year. Domestic business accounted for 12.9 billion euros of this, a nominal increase of 3.1%. Nominal foreign sales amounted to 6.8 billion euros, a decrease of 2.9%.
Export prices fell by 1.0%, while domestic sales prices fell only slightly by 0.1%. The calendar and seasonally adjusted production index fell only slightly by 0.2% compared to the same month last year. The index measures the volume of goods produced in real terms, adjusted for price changes.
Commodity markets
Agricultural commodities and energy are among the key cost drivers in food production. Price increases in these areas often affect the entire value chain with a time lag and ultimately also influence the sales prices of the food industry.
Agricultural commodities
Prices on the global and regional agricultural commodity markets are largely determined by supply and demand. The FAO Food Price Index - as a barometer for global food prices - and the national sales prices of agricultural products are therefore regarded as important early indicators for future price trends.
In February, the FAO Food Price Index rose to 125.3 points. This corresponds to an increase of 1.2 percent compared to the previous month. Three of the five sub-indices rose, albeit to varying degrees. The strongest increase was recorded for oils at 3.3%, followed by meat at 2.0% and cereals at 1.1%. The price index for sugar fell by 4.1% and that for dairy products by 2.0%.
In December, producer prices for agricultural products were 1.6% below the previous month's level and 8.3% below the previous year's level. Compared to the pre-crisis level at the beginning of 2020, however, this corresponds to an increase of around 25%.
Prices for plant-based products rose by 1.2% month-on-month and were down 11.5% year-on-year. The price index for iceberg lettuce was 11.1% higher than the previous year, while the price index for table potatoes was 48.0% lower.
Products of animal origin recorded a decline of 3.0% in November compared to the previous month and were down 6.4% year-on-year. In contrast, the price index for cattle rose significantly, increasing by 27.1% compared to the same month last year. The price index for pigs fell by 16.1% compared to the previous year.
Energy commodities
According to the Federal Statistical Office, producer prices for industrial products developed as follows in January: Prices for natural gas (liquefied or gaseous) fell by 4.4% compared to the previous month. The price index for crude oil fell by 4.6%, while that for lignite rose by 4.1%. Despite the decline in producer prices for natural gas since the energy crisis, they are currently still around 208% higher than at the start of 2020.
Outlook: Business climate
The monthly ifo Business Climate Index is an important indicator of sentiment and expectations in the food industry. In February, the index rose slightly compared to the previous month. The balance of the business climate increased by 4.5 points to 91.5 points and thus remains well below the neutral mark of 100 points.
The assessment of the current business situation also improved. The corresponding balance rose by 2.2 points to 88.3 points. Business expectations for the coming six months also developed more positively compared to the previous month: the balance of expectations increased to 94.6 points.
Nevertheless, the proportion of companies with negative business expectations still predominates. Only 20.8 out of 100 respondents expect an improvement, while 32.1 expect a deterioration.
Consumer climate and consumer prices
The GfK consumer climate is a key indicator of consumer sentiment in Germany. In February, the index fell from minus 26.9 to minus 24.2 points. However, a correction to minus 24.7 points is expected for March.
In January 2026, general consumer prices rose by 0.1% compared to the previous month. By contrast, prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages rose by 0.9% in the same period.
In a year-on-year comparison, food prices were 2.6% higher and general consumer prices were 2.1% higher than in the same month last year.
Note: This article has been translated using a computer system without human intervention. LUMITOS offers these automatic translations to present a wider range of current news. Since this article has been translated with automatic translation, it is possible that it contains errors in vocabulary, syntax or grammar. The original article in German can be found here.
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