Producer prices for plant and animal products will move in opposite directions in 2026
Prices for table potatoes have nearly doubled compared to the previous month, while milk and meat prices continue to fall.
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Prices for plant-based products and table potatoes are rising year-over-year for the first time since July 2024
Overall producer prices for agricultural products, August 2026
-7.0% compared with the same month a year ago
+5.5% from the previous month
Prices for crop products
+12.3% compared with the same month a year ago
Prices for livestock and animal products
-16.6% compared with the same month a year ago
Producer prices for agricultural products in August 2026 were 7.0% lower than in August 2025. In July 2026, the year-over-year change had been -13.7%, and in June 2026, it had been -13.9%. As the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) further reports, producer prices for agricultural products rose by 5.5% in August 2026 compared to July 2026. This was the sharpest month-over-month increase since March 2022 (+13.1% from the previous month), when, following the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, grain prices, among other things, had skyrocketed.
On a year-over-year basis, prices for plant and animal products moved in sharply opposite directions. Prices for plant products rose by 12.3% in August 2026 compared with the same month a year earlier. This was the first year-over-year increase since July 2024 (+3.7% compared to July 2023). Prices for livestock and animal products, on the other hand, fell by 16.6%. Compared to the previous month, July 2026, prices rose in August 2026 for both plant-based products (+11.1%) and animals and animal products (+2.0%).
Plant Production: Price increases for table potatoes, vegetables, grains, cash crops, forage crops, and wine; price decreases for fruit
The 12.3% year-over-year increase in prices for plant products is attributable, among other factors, to significantly higher prices for table potatoes. In August 2026, these were 61.5% higher than in August 2025. This marks the first price increase since July 2024 (+16.0% compared to July 2023). In July 2026, the year-over-year change was still -45.4%, and in June 2026, it was -35.9%. Compared to the previous month, July 2026, prices for table potatoes nearly doubled (+93.0%).
Vegetable prices rose by 14.3% over the past year, with iceberg lettuce (+72.4%), tomatoes (+27.8%), and cucumbers (+15.4%) becoming significantly more expensive. Price decreases, on the other hand, were observed for cauliflower and cabbage, among other items, which became 14.7% and 6.4% cheaper, respectively, over the past year.
Grains were 11.5% more expensive in August 2026 compared to August 2025 (change from the previous month, July 2026: +4.1%). Overall, prices for cash crops in August 2026 were 7.9% higher than a year earlier; among these, rapeseed prices rose by 13.6%. Prices for forage crops rose by 4.3% compared with the same month a year earlier. Wine prices rose by 0.6% in August 2026 compared with August 2025.
By contrast, producer prices for fruit in August 2026 were 20.4% lower than a year earlier. Price decreases were seen, among other things, for dessert apples (-32.9%) and strawberries (-6.4%).
Livestock Production: Price Declines for Milk, Pigs, Cattle, and Poultry; Price Increase for Eggs
The 16.6% year-over-year decline in prices for livestock and animal products is attributable, in part, to lower milk prices. The price of milk in August 2026 was 23.9% lower than in August 2025. Compared to the previous month, July 2026, milk prices rose by 1.5%. In contrast, egg prices increased by 7.9% over the course of the year.
Prices for livestock in August 2026 were 13.4% lower than in August 2025. This was primarily due to a 19.0% decline in the price of slaughter pigs; prices for cattle also fell by 12.9%. Poultry prices in August 2026 were 2.5% lower than in August 2025. This was primarily due to a 4.6% drop in the price of broiler chickens. Prices for other poultry (ducks and turkeys), on the other hand, rose by 0.6%.
Methodological Notes:
The Producer Price Index for Agricultural Products measures the trend in agricultural sales prices (excluding value-added tax) in Germany and thus reflects price trends at the primary production stage. The annual and marketing year results are seasonally adjusted and therefore often differ from the arithmetic mean of the monthly indices from January through December for the calendar year or from July through June for the marketing 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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