Rental prices for agricultural land in Germany have risen significantly in recent years, reaching an average cost per hectare last year of €357 ($381), according to government figures released on Friday.
Last year's average rents are a 9% increase over 2020, when rent for a hectare stood at €329, according to Germany's Federal Statistical Office.
According to the report, there were major regional differences in rents.
While an average lease fee of €99 per hectare was estimated for the state Saarland, which borders Luxembourg and France, an average of €560 was due in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia further north.
In Lower Saxony (€548), Schleswig-Holstein (€479) and Bavaria (€415), rental fees were also significantly higher than the national average.
In 2023, around 85% of farms in Germany were sole proprietorships, just over half of which were operated as a sideline by a farmer with another job as well. Those farms tended to be small, averaging 46 hectares.
Bigger businesses, including partnerships, corporations and other kinds of companies, made up the rest. But those farms tended to be more than three times as large, averaging 176 hectares per farm - and together farm about 39% of all agricultural land in Germany.
