According to preliminary data from the German Federal Agricultural Information Center (BZL), the production value of German agriculture is rising to 59.6 billion euros. This corresponds to an overall increase of 3.6 percent. Higher cereal prices alone -as a result of increased demand on the markets- led to sales proceeds of 7 billion euros (+42 percent). Crop production is expected to reach a production value of 29.7 billion euros. This is an increase of almost 8 percent compared to the previous year, according to a BLE data survey.
Closing of gastronomy sector affects potato market
The pandemic had a major impact on the potato market. The season saw a stockpile of unprocessed potatoes. The lock-down in Europe and Germany brought demand from restaurants and large-scale catering facilities to a halt. Household demand for potatoes and potato products could not compensate for this. With a stockpile of 1.6 million tons, conditions were unfavorable for the 2021 season. A normal harvest, combined with these stocks, resulted in a total of 11.1 million tons of potatoes. Volume pressure resulted in a price of 187 euros per ton (-14 percent compared to 2020). Production value slumped by 33 percent to just under 1.6 billion euros.
Lower yields of fruit and vegetables
The pandemic continued to bring significant problems for producers of vegetables and fruits. These production sectors use labor from other EU member states, but the COVID-19 travel restrictions meant that they were not available to the usual extent.
The harvest volume of fresh vegetables in the 2021 season was about four percent lower than the previous year. The lower crop volume resulted in a significant price increase of nearly 21 percent. Vegetable producers will achieve a total production value of around EUR 3.9 billion (+16 percent).
Fruit producers were confronted by a harvest volume that was nearly 10 percent lower that usual. Consequently, fruit prices rose, by 9 percent for apples and 12 percent for pears. Overall, however, prices remained below last year's levels. With a market price estimated at 854 euros per ton, the total production value is expected to be around 1 billion euros.
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