Paris, Aug 31 - French farm prices dropped sharply in July, weighed down by a decline for grains and a continued slide for fruit and vegetables, statistics office Insee said on Monday.
The overall index of farm prices fell 3.3 percent on the month, leaving it down 15.6 percent year-on-year, Insee said in a monthly note.
Fruit and vegetable prices were down 4.7 percent versus the previous month, putting them down 22.8 percent year-on-year.
"Fresh vegetables (-19.3 percent on the year) and above all fruit (-55.0 percent for apricots, -13.9 percent for peaches and -35.8 percent for plums) are suffering particularly from abundant production in the face of subdued demand," Insee said.
Plunging prices this summer have sparked protests from fruit and vegetable farmers, exacerbated by a row over past subsidies the European Union wants France to claim back from producers.
Grain prices slipped 1.3 percent versus June as a rise for wheat was offset by sharp falls for maize and barley.
Wheat prices were up 2.3 percent, helped by exports to Algeria and Egypt, but remained down 28.9 percent on the year, Insee said.
Maize tumbled 8.9 percent on the month under pressure from upward revisions for world output, and oilseed prices also slid, down 13.0 percent versus June, due to large expected harvests.
Over the year, maize was down 35.1 percent and oilseeds were 38.3 percent lower.
Meat prices rose 0.9 percent month-on-month, boosted by a continued rise for veal, but were down 6.2 percent on the year.