Agricultural Prices Fall In August

The monthly price index for all agricultural outputs fell by 4.2% in August due to the index for crops falling by 3.7% and animals and animal products also falling by 3.7%. Prices are generally lower than the same time last year with the index for all outputs and inputs being 11% and 4.2% lower. Fresh vegetables also fell by 4.5% due to large volumes and low demand. Cereal prices are 16% lower than July. On the input side animal feed prices fell by 2.8% making them 13% lower than last year.

FAO FPI Lowest Point Since 2010

The Food Price Index (FPI) published by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) fell for the sixth month in a row in September 2014 averaging 191.5 points down 5.2 points from August and 12.2 points from the same time last year. The fall means that the index has now reached its lowest point since August 2010 and makes it the longest continuous period of falls since the 1990s. The five commodity groups that make up the FPI basket showed different degrees and directions of change with sugar and dairy the main contributors to the fall followed by cereals and oils, while meat remained firm.

Farm Gate Prices Down In May

The agricultural price index for all outputs fell by 0.8% and the API for inputs fell by 1.4% in May 2014 according to a statistical bulletin from Defra. The prices are lower than the same time last year. The API for all outputs is 8.3% lower and the API for all inputs is 3.4% lower than last year.

All crop prices are down on last year at this time. The biggest differences in output prices are with potatoes (46%), fresh fruit (27%), cereals (18%) and fresh vegetables (18%). On the inputs side, energy and lubricant prices are down for the fourth month in a row. Prices fell by 0.3% in May and are 1% lower than a year ago. Animal feed is down 1.9% on the monthly comparison and 31% down on last year. Fertiliser prices are 2.9% lower in May and 9.1% lower than the same time last year.

World Food Prices Down For Second Month

The FAO Food Price Index fell for the second consecutive month in May 2014 to an average of 207.8, down 2.5 points (1.2%) from April and 7 points (3.2%) from May 2013. March saw the index rise to a ten month high of 213 points but it fell away again in May due to price pressures from the dairy, cereal and vegetable oil sectors. Sugar increased and meat remained stable.

Agricultural Prices Down In March And Year

Prices for all outputs rose by 0.6% and the prices of all inputs was unchanged for March 2014. Prices are lower than the same last year. The price for all outputs was 6.9% lower than the same time year. The price for all inputs was 4.5% lower than the same time last year.

Crop prices are down slightly compared with last year. The poor harvest may have been to blame. Some crop prices are significantly down on last year: potatoes down 38%, fresh fruit down 23%, oilseed rape down 22% and cereals down 22%.

Strong demand for top quality fresh fruit led to a price rise of 7.7% in March. Cereals prices increased by 1.2% due to concerns over the future supply of cereals due to the political situation in the Crimea. An increase in global demand for oilseed rape and decrease in supply led to a price rise of 2.3% in March.

Sheep and lamb prices increased by 9.3% in March as supplies decreased pushing up prices. Lower levels of production of mutton and lamb than last year, down 1.8%, resulted in prices 8.7% higher than last year.

On the inputs side, energy and lubricant prices were 2.5% lower in March and 4% lower than last year. Feed prices increased by 0.5% but remain 12% down on last year. Straights rose by 2% due to increased cereal prices while compounds stayed the same.

The price of fertiliser rose by 0.4% in March but is still 8.2% lower than last year. Prices remain steady because most of the spring fertiliser market was already ordered.

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France is the main producer of cereals in the EU28 with 285m tonnes or 24% of the total, Germany produced 16% (45.4m tonnes) and the UK contributed 19.5m tonnes or 7%. France was also the biggest producer of common wheat with 28% of total EU28 production, grain maize (26%) and barley (21%). Germany was the main rye and maslin producer with 43%.

The largest quantity of cow's milk was produced by Germany with 29.7m tonnes or 21% of total EU28 production then France with 24.4m tonnes or 17% and the UK with 13.6m tonnes or 10%. The UK was the biggest producer of drinking milk with 6.9m tonnes or 22% of EU28 production. Germany was the biggest producer of cheese (23%), cream (21%) and butter (23% in the EU28 with France following with 21%, 16% and 20% respectively.

Agriculture Sees Fall in API in August

The agricultural prices index published by Defra for all outputs fell by 2.5% in August but remains 0.6% higher than last year. The API for all inputs fell by 0.5% but is still 1% higher than last year.

All of the output price categories fell with the exception of milk. Cereals fell 9.7% and are 13% lower than last year, oilseed rape fell 8% and is 15% down on last year, potatoes are 8.8% lower than last year and vegetable prices are down 5.1% and 6% on last year. Livestock prices are 4% down in August but are still 5% higher than last year. Milk has seen a 2.2% increase in price in August and are 20% higher than last year.

On the input side animal feed has fallen in price by 7.2% reflecting falling prices in cereal and industrial crops. Motor fuel price increases of 2.7% have put them 2.3% up on last year.

FAO FPI Continues To Fall

The FAO Food Price Index (FPI) continued to fall in September as the index averaged 199.1 points, 2.3 points below the August average and 11 points on the beginning of the year. The index has fallen now for 5 consecutive months. The fall was driven by a sharp fall in the international price of cereals. The prices of all the other components of the index rose namely dairy, oils, meat and sugar.

Agricultural Prices Fall But Still Above Last Year

Farm gate prices fell by 6.2% in July but they remain 4.9% above last year's prices. Input prices also fell by 1.1% in July but they are also above last year's prices by 2.9%.

Output prices fell across the board in July except for forage crops. Cereals fell 8.3% due to a fall in demand as traders expect global production to rise, but prices are still 0.4% higher than last year. Global supply is also keeping the price of oilseed rape down. OSR prices fell 13% in July and are 11% down on last year.

Potato prices fell 46% on the month due to early potato prices which fell 8% as the season ended. Vegetables fell 13% and are 11% down on last year. Cauliflowers fell 57%. Increased supply, warm weather and low demand combined to bring the prices down.

Livestock prices were better as animal and animal products prices increased 0.2% on the month and 11% on the year. The rise was mainly due to a 1.9% increase in the price of milk which is 19% higher than last year.

Feed prices have seen a gradual fall of 2.4% over the last few months but they are still 12% above this time last year. Feed cereals saw the biggest fall in price with an 8.6% fall.

World Food Prices Still Much Higher Than Last Year

The FAO Food Price Index averaged 211.3 in June nearly 2 points below its revised May value but still almost 11 points above the figure for June Last year. The slight decline reflects lower sugar and dairy prices and slightly less severe price decreases in cereals and oils. Meat prices went up 2% in June.

FPI Steady At 215

The FAO Food Price Index for May 2013 remained around 215 but averaged slightly below the April value of 215.8 at 215.2 points. It was fully 10 points higher than in May last year. It is also nearly 10% below the February 2011 peak.

Cereals increased in price in May up 4 points to 238.9 and almost 17 points, or 7.8%, above Last May. A strong recovery in maize prices was the main contributor. Wheat and rice were largely unchanged. Oils and fats were unchanged. The increases in cereals prices were offset by falls in the dairy and sugar indices. The Dairy Price Index fell by 9 points to 249.8 in May. April had seen exceptionally high prices. The biggest fall within the Dairy Price Index was in skimmed milk powder. Sugar prices responded to good harvesting conditions in Brazil and the generally abundant supply of sugar globally. Meat prices in May remained about the same as in April.

Agricultural Output Prices Increase 14.5% Over The Year

The agricultural price index (API) for all outputs increased by 3.2% in March and by 14.5% on last year. The price index for all inputs fell by 0.1% in March but is up 9.7% on last year.

Crop outputs prices increased 2.8% on March and 27% on last year. Potato output prices continue to rise by another 14% in March and are more than twice the price of last year with an increase of 125%. Price rises were offset by a fall in cereals prices of 3.4% in March but over the year they are still 25% higher than last year. Animal and animal products prices increased by 4% in March and are 5.6% up on last year. Animal slaughter prices increased by 7.4% largely due to a 20% rise in sheep prices. They are however still 12% below last year's prices.

Prices for agricultural inputs have not changed much in March. The overall index changed only by a 0.1% fall. Over the year prices generally are up by 12%. The increase is due mainly to a 46% rise in the price of seeds and feed price increases of 16% both sets of prices being affected by the poor cereal harvest of 2012.

Farm Gate Prices Down In December

The prices farmers received for their products fell by 0.4% in December on November but is still 11.8% higher than last year. Farmers were also having to pay on average 3.2% more on the monthly comparison and 5.4% on the annual comparison for their goods and services. Main crop potatoes have almost doubled in price since December 2012 due to low yields and low quality. Cereal prices have grown by 10% from November and 38% on the annual comparison. Dessert apples' prices have increased by 9% on the month and 25% on the year. Sheep prices fell by 28% over the year due to higher volumes and cheap imports of sheep meat.

FPI 7% Fall In 2012

The Food Price Index for December 2012 published by the FAO was 1.1% down on November averaging at 209. It was the third consecutive fall in the FPI and the main contributing factors were falls in the international prices of cereals, oils and fats. The fall meant that for the whole year of 2012 the index averaged 7% less than in 2011 at 212. The biggest falls in prices in 2012 were in sugar (17.1%), dairy products (14.5%) and oils (10.7%). Cereals (2.4%) and meats (1.1%) had much more modest falls in prices. The fears of a food crisis in July when food prices were rising were therefore allayed.

Farm Business Income Up By 15%

Average farm business income increased across all farm types in England in 2010-11 by 15% mainly due to higher prices for cereals, oilseed rape and milk.

Farm business income is the main income measure used in the Farm Accounts of England which is the most important publication from the Farm Business Survey. It comprises 4 different segments or cost centres: agriculture, agri-environment, diversification and the single payment scheme. The agriculture and Single Payment Scheme cost centres contribute about 40% each to total farm business income. Agri-environment and diversification contribute smaller average amounts.

Average farm business income per farm results by broad farm types shows that cereal farms income was £94,6000 and increased by 12% mainly due to increases from the oilseed rape crop partly offset by increases in costs for fertiliser and soil improvement. General cropping farms suffered a decrease of 10% to £100,900. Potato output was considerably lower due to a fall in prices. Mixed farms farm business income increased by 30% in 2011-12 to £66,000 due to improved prices in both livestock and cropping enterprises. Horticultural-type farms covering fruit, vegetables and non-edibles increased by 15% to £55,300 even though total output was 3% lower than 2011-12. Fall in outputs was affected by the cold weather.

On livestock farms dairy farms' farm business income was up over 30% to £86,700 in 2011-12. Milk prices were 12% higher than in 2010-11 at over 28p/litre with average production costs of 26.2p/litre and better prices for dairy beef also helped increase total farm business output. Higher costs fro concentrates offset the increase in income. Lowland grazing livestock farms increased their income by around 50% to £32,200, still low in comparison to other farms. LFA grazing livestock farms increased their farm business income by about 37% to £29,200. Average farm business income on specialist pig farms was down by 15% at £38,000 compared to 2010-11. Prices and output were higher but were offset by higher feed costs.

Many farm businesses are responding to the changes faced by agriculture in the economy by trying to increase their incomes by diversification into non-agricultural work of an entrepreneurial nature on or off the farm but using the farms resources. Over 50% of farms in England fit this definition and have some diversified activity. This figure has been more or less stable for 5 years. The main one has traditionally been letting out buildings for non-agricultural use. Outside of this diversified activity the proportion of farms with diversified activity falls to 27%. Diversified farm activity accounts for up to a quarter of total farm income for 30% of businesses. For 16% of businesses diversified income accounts for more than the rest of the farm business. The 29,500 farms diversifying generated £380m of diversified income. The half of all farms diversifying generated only 4% (£730m) of total farm business output of £16,360m. The largest enterprises by value of output are those involved in the processing and retailing of farm produce (£31,500) and tourist accomodation and catering (£21,300) compared with sport and recreation (£11,900).

World Food Prices Lower In November

The FAO Food Price Index for November was down 3 points on October and is its lowest since June 2012. Prices of all commodity groups except dairy came down in November. Sugar showed the sharpest decline followed by oils and cereals. The index for November this year is nearly 3% below the index for the same time last year.

FPI Remains The Same In October

The Food Price Index of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) was unchanged at 213.5 between September and October 2012. The Meat Price Index increased 0.1 to 174.3 and there were also increases in the Dairy and Sugar Prices Indices. There were decreases in the Cereals and Oils Prices Indices. These five components combined give the overall Food Price Index.

Fall In Global Food Prices In April

Global food prices fell by over 4 points in April according to the monthly Food Price Index (FPI) of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). The FAO index of 213.9 compares with the index of 217 for March 2012. The main components of the index all fell in price with the exception of the Meat Price Index which increased by 0.9 points. The price indices of the dairy, cereals, oils and sugar sectors all fell in April. The index had risen month on month since November 2011. Prices are still much lower than the same month last year when the index was at 234.9.

Global Food Prices Remain Fairly Stable In November

The FAO Food Price Index fell slightly again in November 2011 with the average at 215 compared with 216 in October. There has been a downward trend in global food prices since February 2011. The annual food price index increased sharply in 2011 to 229 from the 185.3 of the previous year. They are the highest since at least 1990. The overall food price index reflects increases in the price indices of the commodity groups that make up the index. The prices for sugar, oils, and cereals reported sharp increases. Food is a volatile sector for prices.

An Increase In Agricultural Price Indices In September

The index of prices received by producers for the total of all agricultural products for September 2011 was 165.7, up from 159.2 in August.

The index of prices paid by producers for the total of all means of agricultural production for September 2011 was 153.1, up from 153.0 in August. The slight increase in purchase prices being covered by the larger increase in production prices. There was an increase in the price of fuel. Confidence is returning to cereals markets after fears of bad harvest weather subsided and prices retruned to normal after increasing earlier in the year. Potato prices started well this year as bad weather reduced availability. News of adequate harvests reduced fears and prices came down again.

Milk prices have increased steadily over the last 18 months with good demand and supply ensuring a good market. Good market conditions also apply to the beef market. Sheep and lamb prices have been sustained but prime prices are beginning to tail off.