Brussels: In the first quarter of 2026, the average price of agricultural output in the EU decreased by 2.9% compared with the same quarter in 2025. This was a slightly higher rate of decline than that of the last quarter of 2025 (-1.7%), according to figures published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

According to Emirates News Agency, the average price of agricultural inputs, which include goods and services consumed in agriculture such as energy, fertilisers, or feedingstuffs, changed little (-0.4%) in the first quarter of 2026. This continued the relative price stability for these inputs during 2025.

In the first quarter of 2026, the average price of agricultural output showed year-on-year decreases in 19 EU countries. The sharpest declines were in Belgium (-12.9% compared with Q1 2025), Germany (-11.0%), and Lithuania (-10.8%). Prices increased in the other 8 EU countries, with notable rises in Malta (+14.8%), Croatia (+8.5%), and Finland (+5.5%).

In terms of the average price of inputs not related to investment, declines were observed in 14 EU countries, with the sharpest rates in Germany (-3.8%), the Netherlands (-3.4%), and both Cyprus and Portugal (-3.1%). In the other 13 EU countries, there were increases, with the highest rates in Lithuania (+16.8%), Romania (+5.0%), and Ireland (+3.6%).

At the EU level, milk and cereal prices decreased by an average of 15.5% and 11.7%, respectively, in the first quarter of 2026, compared with the same quarter in 2025.

Among the goods and services consumed in agriculture, the average prices of fertilisers and soil improvers in the EU rose by 6.6% in the same period, while feedingstuffs and energy declined by 4.9% and 0.6% respectively.