Onions and potatoes, the top sellers in Austria, are gettin
g more expensive. According to Statistics Austria, in July onions cost 33 percent more than in the same month last year. The prices for potatoes climbed 20 percent over the same period - including processed product prices with French fries at +9 percent and chips at +8.8 percent.
The onion price was recently driven up due to the significant harvest losses of the previous year. For a few days now, the price level are back at the levels of the 2018 season.
Bad start of harvest
Potatoes are developing quite different: their price is still well above the seasonal values of 2017 and 2018. The reason for this is probably the problems with obtaining the new potatoes. According to the AMA, the dryness and heat witnessed in many places have halved the yields of new potatoes compared to normal values. Statistics Austria puts the harvest losses for new potatoes Austria-wide at 5 percent.
However, the food statistics also show some positive news for the consumer. Apples and lemons are a quarter cheaper than in the summer of 2018. Also noticeably cheaper were butter (-10 percent), pears (-8 percent), peaches (-5 percent) and tomatoes (-3 percent).
Source: Agrarmarkt Austria / Volksblatt