The prices of goods consumed by the agriculture sector in the European Union fell by 11% during the first quarter of 2023, with most countries recording lower costs as volatility related to the war in Ukraine quells, the EU’s statistics office Eurostat said on Wednesday.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, both major agricultural exporters, had disrupted shipments of fertilizers and edible oils from the Black Sea region and sent prices of wheat, soy, and corn to near record highs in 2022.
However, the recent declines in agricultural output and input costs show a return to calmer pre-disruption levels, Eurostat said.
The decline in input costs included a 31% drop for fertilizer and soil improvers, 16% for animal feeds, and 12% for energy and lubricants, compared to a year earlier.
Out of 25 EU member states with available data, Portugal was the only one where input prices rose by 2%, while the Netherlands, Ireland, Hungary, and Croatia recorded the biggest drops of between 17% and 20%.
Twenty countries also recorded lower output prices, or prices of agricultural goods sold, which dropped by 6% on average, with a 28% drop in the price of cereals.
Output prices rose in five Southern European countries, led by a 20% increase in Greece.
An expected impact from unfavorable weather conditions on harvested volumes pushed prices of potatoes up by 22% and those of fresh fruit by 20%, the statistics office said.