Grain in particular is now significantly cheaper again after the price wave caused by the Ukraine war has subsided.
(Photo: dpa)
Berlin In the case of food, the main inflation driver, there are increasing indications that the strong price increases are abating: Producer prices for agricultural products fell in April for the first time in more than two years. They fell by 6.5 percent compared to the same month last year, as the Federal Statistical Office announced on Thursday.
Responsible for the price slide is “particularly a base effect due to the very high price level in the previous year”. In April 2022, producer prices rose by 40 percent after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In 2022 overall, they increased by almost a third on average and thus more strongly than at any time since the survey began in 1961. From March to April, prices fell by 2.3 percent.
This increases the probability that consumers will be relieved of food prices in the future. Food prices rose again significantly in May at 14.9 percent, but not as much as in April at 17.2 percent. That helped the inflation rate fall to its lowest level in more than a year at 6.1 percent. Falling producer prices usually reach consumers with a time lag.
Prices of crops in April were 20.0 percent lower than a year earlier. Grain became cheaper by 38.3 percent. Fruit cost 4.3 percent less: There were price declines for dessert apples (-7.2 percent) and strawberries (-1.8 percent). Vegetables, on the other hand, rose in price by 19.2 percent, including cauliflower (+35.6 percent) and lettuce (+23.5). 36.7 percent more was required for ware potatoes.
Animal product prices were an average of 3.9 percent higher than April 2022 levels. Milk was 3.9 percent cheaper, while eggs cost 41.1 percent more.
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