Eurostat: The EU Fertilizer Prices Lowered in 2023 and the Potato Prices Rose
While fertilizer costs soared by about 90% in 2022, the average price declined by more than a fifth across the EU last year. Twenty-two EU nations out of the twenty-six where data was available had lower fertilizer prices in 2023 than in 2022.
Fertilizer prices in Ireland dropped by an estimated 30% in 2023 when compared with the previous year, according to Eurostat. However, data from the E.U.’s statistics agency shows that fertilizer prices spiked by almost 123% in Ireland during 2022 following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Sweden (-41%), Finland (-39%), and Luxembourg (-46%) saw the largest price declines. Malta (9%), Greece (6%), Cyprus (14%), and Romania (3%), in comparison, had higher pricing.
While the average price of inputs fell last year, the average price of agricultural products in the EU climbed over the previous year.
According to Eurostat, the differences between different items reflect the low average increase in production prices. A widespread drought in 2023 impacted the production levels of several crops, including potatoes. This in turn resulted in the average price of potatoes including seed potatoes increasing by 23%.
The cost of potatoes rose in 24 of the EU countries. Prices rose fastest in Germany (49%), Slovakia (48%) and Croatia (44%). Prices fell in Belgium (-18%), Cyprus (-14%) and Austria (-4%).
