The turnover of German livestock, crop, and horticulture farming dropped by about four percent last year to 56.3 billion euros.
The decline occurred in both plant and animal production. The effects of drought in previous years were still noticeable in grain. Despite efforts to maintain discipline, the milk price declined, according to initial calculations from the Federal Information Center for Agriculture (BZL).
The Information Center estimates the value of agricultural crop production for 2020 at 26.9 billion euros; that would be 3.6 percent lower. According to BZL, animal production reached a total value of 26.3 billion euros, a decrease of four percent.
Animal products – eggs, milk, wool, and honey – showed a slight decline in production value; the BZL estimates this at 12.2 billion euros, with an average milk price of 33.5 cents per kilogram of delivered milk.
Grain production last year, totaling 43.2 million tons, was significantly higher than in the drought year 2018 with 37.2 million tons. According to the first estimate, the average turnover is 167 euros per ton, which is 3.1 percent more than in 2019. Despite the larger harvest, the production value of German grain decreased by almost three percent to seven billion euros, according to BZL.
The usable quantity of potatoes in Germany was about 11.2 million tons higher than the previous year’s quantity. The good harvest, stocks from the previous year, and the lockdown resulted in an average price of 174 euros per ton.
In German livestock farming last year, there was a slightly reduced volume of slaughter with lower prices for slaughter animals. BZL assumes an average price of 3,086 euros per ton of slaughter weight, 3.2 percent lower than last year. For pigs, a slightly lower slaughter volume can be assumed. The price of slaughter pig meat is expected to be 5.2 percent lower than last year, namely 1,711 euros per ton.
According to BZL, an estimated 32 million tons of raw milk were delivered to German dairy companies in 2020. The milk price fell on average by four percent to 33.5 cents per kilogram due to reduced sales caused by corona; in 2019, it was 34.6 cents per kilogram.