Market prices are one of the key economic parameters for monitoring the value of production and together with input prices the income position of the producers as well. The indicator shows the average annual market prices at purchasers (rules on the market information system) of the most important agricultural products in Slovenia and also comparing them with the EU average.

Agriculture is an economic activity characterized by a strong dependence on natural factors, a relatively high immobility of production factors, characteristics of supply and demand on agricultural markets with frequent instabilities of global agricultural markets. Additionally, there is a significant social interest in the state and development of agriculture. Achieving long-term strategic goals is only possible under stable economic conditions for farming.

Market prices for agricultural products in Slovenia are mainly influenced by prices in major producing countries or in the regional countries. Generally, these prices are at a similar level or slightly below EU average; except for milk, where Slovenia is one of the EU Member States with a below-average market price. For livestock products, market price fluctuations are mainly due to the political situation in the world which affect the global demand for raw materials and products, but also partly to fluctuations in feed prices (poultry and pig farming) and other production costs. On the other hand, fluctuations in crop prices depend primarily on the conditions for crop production in larger areas and the quantities available, with a lesser impact from changesin input prices (fuel, fertilisers, etc.).

Slovenian market prices for beef are consistently lower than average EU prices. Beef prices increased until 2012, followed by a period of stagnation. Beef prices fell in 2019 and 2020, followed by a sharp rise in prices in 2021-2023.

In addition, for pigs, market prices for fattening pigs were above the European average for two years after Slovenia's accession to the EU (2004) but fell slightly below the EU average until 2014. In 2014, EU prices for fattening pigs fell more sharply than in Slovenia, resulting in Slovenia prices beening higher than the EU average sincethen. Market prices for pigs have fluctuated greatly from year to year, but a slight growth trend can be observed in the period 2010-2020. A significant increase in pig purchase prices can be observed in 2022 and 2023, after two consecutive years of falling prices. Furthermore, due to regional limitations of the broiler market, average market prices for broiler meat are consistently higher than EU average. However these prices adjust to European market trends and increase despite occasional fluctuations. Similarly the average market price of eggs in Slovenia is generally higher than EU average, with significant price increases for bothchicken meat and eggs observed in 2021. Market prices of milk also follow the trends of the major producers in Europe. It is characteristic of Slovenia that it belongs to the group of EU Member States with the lowest purchase price of milk.

Grain prices depend mainly on the harvest, both in terms of quantity and quality. Considerable price fluctuations between harvests (years) were also observed for wheat and maize. Price trends are also partly influenced by global demand for grain as well as by the prices for commodities such as oil, energy products and raw materials for the fertiliser production. The average market prices in Slovenia for wheat and maize are very close to the EU average in the period analyzed.

In order to interpret the achievement of economic strategic directions for the development of Slovenian agriculture, it is essential to analyse other economic indicators and production volumes in parallel with market prices. Among other economic indicators, production costs (in absolute terms), price indices for agricultural inputs, cost-revenue parity, etc. are the most frequently interpreted.