00:00Are Europe's farmers facing a price squeeze?
00:06On average, prices for what EU farmers sell are falling, while the cost of supplies is rising.
00:13It's a pressure EU agricultural ministers discussed this week, with fertilizers and energy among their concerns.
00:21Eurostat's figures show the gap.
00:23In the second quarter of this year, average prices for agricultural products across the EU were 5.8% lower
00:31than a year earlier, the third consecutive quarter of a year-on-year decline.
00:36At the same time, prices for goods and services used on farms rose by 4.7%.
00:42For milk, the price farmers received fell by 16.6%.
00:46Meanwhile, fertilizers and soil improvers cost 13.4% more, and energy and lubricants rose by 22%.
00:55Prices for farm products fell in 20 EU countries, while the cost of farm supplies rose in every member state.
01:02The concern is visible outside the data.
01:06Farmers in France have recently taken to the streets in protest over fuel prices,
01:10while farming groups in Spain are demanding help with diesel and fertilizer costs.
01:16The EU has allocated €540 million for farmers affected by higher energy and fertilizer costs, driven by the Middle East
01:24crisis.
01:25Ministers have also discussed longer-term ways to make fertilizers more affordable.
