Steeply-rising agricultural inflation figures have sparked concerns over the "extraordinary financial pressures" faced by East Anglia's farmers.

The AgInflation Index is generated using data from AF Group's buying office at Honingham Thorpe, outside Norwich, which sources more than £250m of agricultural goods for its members annually – equivalent to 10pc of the UK's farm inputs.

The latest calculation reveals the total cost of farming inputs increased by 21.86pc between September 1, 2020 and September 30, 2021.

In particular, fuel and fertiliser saw "unprecedented" increases of 79.9pc and 51.2pc respectively.

The figures show that no farming enterprise has been able to avoid double-digit inflation, while retail prices had remained largely unchanged - highlighting the ongoing squeeze on margins for farmers.

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AF said agricultural inflation continues to race ahead, and there has already been a further 50pc increase on fertiliser prices since the end of this reporting period, driven by the rising cost of natural gas.

The purchasing group said the added pressure on farming profits comes against a backdrop of competitive concerns over new post-Brexit trade deals, and "greenflation" as the nation aims to move to a zero-carbon economy.

AF chief executive David Horton-Fawkes said: "Our farmer-members do the most important work on the planet - they grow food and look after nature, but many of them will find the extraordinary financial pressures they are confronting difficult, which threaten the very existence of many farms.

"We are deeply concerned about the impact of these high rates of agricultural inflation on our members and there has never been a stronger case or a better time for UK farmers to collaborate and work together.

"Inflation is not slowing down and it’s only by working together that we will be able to overcome the biggest challenges to farming for 50 years."

The AF Aginflation Index is designed to help farmers review their expenditure and understand the drivers of current and potential future inflationary trends.

AF member Tony Bambridge of B&C Farming in Marsham, said: “Data like this is incredibly important for us to run our farm effectively and will only grow in importance as the industry changes.

"The need to track our costs is paramount to the health of our business and it is vital our customers understand the inflationary pressures we are facing."