Agricultural output prices across the EU fell by 5.8% in the second quarter of 2026 compared with the same period a year earlier, while farmers’ input costs rose by 4.7%.
The fall in output prices was the third consecutive quarterly decline, Eurostat reported on Thursday.
Output prices cover what farmers receive for their products, while input prices track the cost of goods and services used up in farming — such as energy, fertilisers and animal feed — excluding investment items like machinery.
Output prices dropped year on year in 20 EU countries in the second quarter of 2026. The largest falls were recorded in Denmark ( - 17.2%), Ireland ( - 16.2%), Latvia and Estonia (both - 14.5%), and Luxembourg and Lithuania (both - 14.2%).
Only a handful of countries saw increases, with the sharpest rises in Croatia and Malta (both +3.9%) and Cyprus (+3.5%).
Input costs rise in every member state
Input prices not related to investment increased in all EU countries over the same period.
The fastest rises were in Lithuania (+16.4%), Romania (+11.7%) and Latvia (+9.7%), while the slowest increases were in Hungary and Portugal (both +1.2%) and Malta (+1.5%).
Among major farm products, average milk prices across the EU fell by 16.6% between the second quarters of 2025 and 2026, while cereals were down 5.6%.
At the same time, some key costs rose sharply, with average EU prices for energy and lubricants up 22.0% and fertilisers and soil improvers up 13.4%.
