Clear price increase
These foods became more expensive. Others cheaper
For food such as fruit, German consumers liked to put a few euros more on the counter – until now. Dealers are concerned and demand more political support.
For apples, bananas or blueberries, consumers had to dig deeper into their pockets last year. In the case of fruit, prices across all varieties have increased by around five percent compared to the previous year, as can be seen from data from the Agrarmarkt Informationgesellschaft (AMI). In contrast, vegetables were around three percent cheaper compared to the previous year.
This was mainly due to a particularly high price level in 2023 for heavily sought-after vegetables such as onions and carrots, said Ami expert Michael Koch. Last year, the average price at the consumer level was normalized again. This also led to a higher demand. In 2024, the purchase quantity at vegetables rose by two percent in the previous year comparison.
In the case of fruit, however, the higher prices are due to a limited offer, said Koch. So the apple harvest was smaller than in the previous year. With blueberries there was a limited overseas offer, which only normalized in the second half of the year. The purchase quantity therefore only slightly increased by about one percent.
Expensive products migrate less often in the shopping cart
Especially with more expensive types of fruit such as berries, consumers were reserved last year, said Andreas Brügger, managing director of the German Fruit Trade Association. “We had a real boom in previous years when it comes to higher quality products.” Now people again increasingly grabbed the basic range. “The kilo for high -quality tomatoes or berry fruits for ten euros, many no longer work.”
The fruit and vegetable industry meets this week for the FRUIT LOGISTICA trade fair in Berlin. Up to 80,000 experts from more than 140 countries are expected from Wednesday to Friday. The mood of the companies is mixed, said Brügger. The costs of the producers, for example for employees, energy, pesticides and fuel, are still very high.
Food dealers feel over
In addition, the loads due to too much bureaucracy would also come at European level. This included labeling obligations for the origin of fruit and vegetables. “Even with mixed salad. The country of origin should be given for all ingredients. If the carrots then go out of Holland, take those from Belgium who have the same quality. But then they have to reproduce the bag again,” criticized Brügger.
For a long time there have been the feeling of finding no hearing for their own concerns in politics. So also with the general ban on plastic packaging for fruit and vegetables from 2030. “We were not consulted there either.” Because each country could issue exceptions, threaten that the internal market will be overridden. “The Commission has not noticed that it is nonsense.”
This has to change again with the next government. “We don’t want tax breaks,” said the leader of the association. But: “It would be in our sense that a coalition forms that deals with economy again and does not see it as an enemy.”
Germany must mainly import fruit and vegetables
The change of government in the USA and the tariffs threatened by the new President Donald Trump did not affect the fruit and vegetable trade in Germany. Germany is an import country for these products. Around 80 percent of the fruit and about 60 percent of the vegetables come from abroad.
However, the United States is an important player on the world market, noted Brügger. Due to the world trade organization (WTO) there are clear rules for world trade. Trump’s America-First deals, on the other hand, have some extortion. “These are attitudes that throw us back by decades.”
Dpa
CL
Source: Stern
