Development of Prices for Agricultural Produce and of Purchased Materials and Services. Initial Findings for Austria

Prices for agricultural produce rose at a breakneck pace in 2007, taking with them agricultural incomes. In 2008, prices were expected to stay below the previous year's level. Consumables, especially diesel and fertilisers, on the other hand became more expensive. The study furnishes calculations of contribution costs for typical produce, examining the effects of price changes in inputs and outputs. The results show that the income-profit situation in the segments investigated will be substantially more negative in 2008 than in 2007, due chiefly to the increase in production costs.