ABSTRACT
The agricultural price reform that came into effect in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) at the beginning of 1984 resulted in a marked increase in the prices of agricultural products and inputs, which hitherto had only changed rarely, and then only by very small amounts. The increase in producer prices is also designed to compensate for the increase in agricultural expenditure resulting from the sharp rise in the prices of industrial inputs and energy. At the beginning of the 1980s there was a clear attempt to dismantle the privileges accorded to the agricultural sector in its dealings with industries supplying inputs. The consequence of the reform of agricultural producer prices has been the largest agricultural price increases in the history of the GDR. Judging from the level of agricultural sales and the new basic prices for standard qualities, the author estimates that subsidies in 1984 will be twice the 1982 total.
