The German Farmers' Association (DBV) expects food prices to rise even more.

"In the fall, we clearly expect two-digit increases compared to the previous year," said Udo Hemmling, Deputy General Secretary of the DBV, in a press conference on Monday.

The higher costs of raw materials and energy in agriculture and food production would be delayed but successively passed through the supply chain.

In April, food and beverages were already 8.6 percent more expensive than a year ago.

The farmers' association sees no signs of easing in the "critical supply situation" on the agricultural markets, which will last well into 2023.

Only the opening of the Black Sea ports and a functioning Ukrainian agriculture would bring relief.

Hemmerling warned of the "potential threat" that Russia, as the world's largest wheat exporter, could now exploit to make developing countries that are heavily dependent on agricultural imports "docile".

In order to reduce the costs for farmers and consumers and to secure the food supply, the DBV calls on politicians to classify the gas supply for food and agriculture as systemically important, as well as a liquidity support program for interest-free loans for fertilizers, animal feed and fuel.

In view of the "exorbitantly" increased prices for operating resources, farmers need planning security, said Hemmerling.

The association is softening the demand for a state fertilizer reserve after the Federal Ministry of Agriculture had recently rejected it.

WWF: EU is an expensive supermarket, not a granary

The DBV also hopes that the EU Commission will implement the proposal by Federal Minister of Agriculture Cem Özdemir (Greens) to suspend the requirements for crop rotation that will apply from next year.

As a result, additional wheat could be grown on 500,000 hectares and the harvest increased by four million tons.

However, Hemmerling admitted that German agriculture can only make a small additional contribution to global food security: "It's more about stabilization and not about original additional production." an additional import pull for food and the export contribution of the past years will be maintained.

According to a report published on Monday by the environmental organization WWF, agriculture in the EU only makes a limited contribution to the global food supply.

"Currently we are the expensive supermarket, not the granary of the world," criticizes WWF nutrition expert Tanja Dräger.

The background is, among other things, that the EU mainly exports high-quality food such as chocolate or meat, but imports cheap products such as cocoa or animal feed.

The report, dubbed 'Europe eats the world', stresses that EU countries import more calories and protein - including in the form of animal feed - than they sell to other regions.

They take 11 percent of the calories and 26 percent of the proteins away from other markets.

The environmentalists call for a clear rethinking of EU agriculture.

Only a more sustainable food system is able to guarantee food security at home and abroad in the future.

Currently, at least half of the grain production in the EU ends up as trough feed.