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.

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.

Livestock Numbers Increase in 2013

Livestock numbers from the December Survey show that there were 5.3m cattle and calves in England between December 2012 and December 2013, an increase of 0.3% according to Defra. The dairy herd increased by 1.5% to 1.1m but the beef herd continued to decrease by 2.6% to 699,000 during 2013.

There were 3.6m pigs in England in December 2013 an increase of 5.5% since December 2012. Fattening pigs increased by 7% to 3.2m while breeding pigs decreased by 4.2% to 411,000 in December 2013.

The total number of sheep and lambs in England between December 2012 and December 2013 increased by 1.6% to 10.9m. The female breeding stock increased by 6.3% to 6.9m. Other sheep and lambs fell by 5.7% to 4m against the upward trend.

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.

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.

Farm Gate Price Of Milk Continues To Rise

The average farm gate price of milk in the UK in April 2013 was 30.09 pence/litre. In April 2012 the price per litre was 2.26p less than this year. The average butterfat content was 4.1% (4.06% in April 2012) and the protein content was 3.22% (3.27% in April 2012). The price of milk has risen every month since the new year after a fall between December and January.

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.

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.

Milk Prices Rise In April

The UK average farm gate price of milk excluding bonuses was 27.91p/litre, up 1.5p/l on April 2011 according to Defra. The butterfat content increased from 4.02% in April 2011 to 4.06% in 2012. The average protein content also increased from 3.22% to 3.26% over the same period.

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.

Cereals Farmers See Big Rise In Incomes

The Farm Business Survey results show that income figures have substantially increased in the year ending February 2011. In 2010/11, incomes increased on arable and mixed farms and a smaller increase on dairy farms. However, average incomes fell on beef, sheep and pig farms. Significant variations in incomes exist within the sectors.

Mixed farms saw an increase of 57% while cereals farms increased their incomes by 107%. General cropping farms increases were 80%. The average increase across all types was 33%. In real terms it means a 97% increase for cereal farms, 72% for general cropping farms and a 49% increase for mixed farms.

Over half of cereal, general cropping and dairy farms had an income over £50,000 and a third over £75,000 but more than 15% of LFA and lowland grazing farms didn't make any profit at all and approximately 60% had incomes of less than £20,000. Different farms are influenced by a variety of different factors including size, location and soil type. The variation in incomes also reflects the differences in production costs.

Volume Of Milk 5.6% Up

The latest release from Defra on milk used by dairies in England and Wales tells us that the intake of raw whole milk was 813m litres, a 5.6% increase on April 2010.

The milk was used for a range of liquid milk and milk products including 346m litres of whole milk and 102m litres of skim milk used for liquid milk and 172m litres of whole milk and 24m litres of skim milk used for cheese production. Milk used in yogurt production was included as part of the 29,434,000 litres of whole milk used to produce yogurt, condensed milk and other dairy products. Over 97m litres of skim milk and nearly 2m litres of cream were also used in the production of yogurt.

The total separated from the total intake for skim milk and cream was 237,891,000 litres leaving the total available 575,471,000 litres.

Producer Prices Increases Again

The most recent producer prices statistical bulletin from the ONS shaowed that in the year to March 2011 output prices rose by 5.4% and input prices rose by 14.6%.

Manufacturing inputs rose in price by 3.7% between February and March 2011 mainly reflecting the increase in prices for crude oil.

Output prices for food products rose 0.5% between february and March and 7.4% in the year to March. In particular, dairy products increased 1.1% notably butter, up 0.4% and bakery products up 0.5%.

Milk Intake Down 1.5% On Year

The key results from the latest milk utilisation release from Defra says that the intake of raw milk in December 2010 was 784m litres, a decrease of 1.5% on December 2009. A total of 233m litres of milk was separated for skim milk (200m litres) and cream (33m litres) leaving a total of 550.9m litres of milk available for disposal as other dairy products. The amount used for the production of liquid milk was 341m litres of whole milk and 124m litres of skim milk. Cheese production accounted for 149m litres of whole milk and 22m litres of skim milk. Other disposals of the raw milk intake included powders, yogurt and condensed milk which accounted for 24.3m litres.

Utilisation Of Milk October 2010

The key results from the release issued by Defra giving the latest milk utilisation statistics show that the intake of raw milk was 723m litres, 0.1% higher than October last year. The amount of milk used for liquid milk was 331m litres of whole milk and 97m litres of skim milk. Cheese production accounted for 136m litres of whole milk, 11m skim litres of skim milk and 1m cream litres of cream.

The range of products manufactured by the dairy industry butter which used 13m litres of cream. Other products included 31m litres of whole milk, 72m litres of skim milk and 1.6m litres of cream to make milk powders, yogurt and condensed milk.

Farm Business Income 2009/10

Average farm business income (net profit) per farm of all types annual percentage change was down 15% at current prices at £43,400 and in real terms at 2009/10 prices they were also down 15%. Cereals were down 34% at £46,000 and general cropping down 31% on 2008/9 and 2007/8 at £66,000. Dairying fell by 19% to £56,100. Net farm income (return to farmer) for all types was down by 24% at current prices and in real terms at 2009/10 prices at £31,500. Cereals saw a 47% fall to £27,900 and general cropping a 40% fall to £48,900. Dairying fell 32% at current prices and 31% in real terms to £40,500. Cash income (revenue less expenses) however increased by 4% across all types of farming to £63,400. Cereals increased cash income by 4% to £78,700, general cropping fell 15% to £104,300, lowland grazing livestock increased by 20% to £27,900, LFA grazing livestock by 24% to £29,300 specialst pigs by 19% to £86,300 and mixed farming by 20% to £55,300 in 2009/10 over 2008/9. Dairying cash income fell 4% to £75,000 at current prices.

Small-Scale Dairying Can Be A Way Out Of Poverty

Poverty reduction, increased nutrition levels and an improvement in livelihoods could be the result of an increase in the competitiveness of small-scale dairy farms according to a study by the FAO's Animal Production and Health Division and the International Farm Comparison Network. It could help meet the demands of local and global markets and the Millenium Develoment Goal of eradicating hunger and poverty.

The study entitled 'The Status and Prospects for Smallholder Milk Production' estimates that there are about 150 million small dairy farming households equalling around 750 million people in milk production and the majority are in developing countries. The average dairy herd is about 2 cows yielding about 11 litres per farm per day. There are 6bn consumers of milk and milk products the majority in developing countries. The low production costs of the smaller dairies means they have the potential to compete with much larger capital intensive dairy systems even in the developed world. Opportunities exist where populations and wages are increasing and where there are higher market prices.

The report also said that better management practices with herd expansion and increased yields could improve productivity and poverty reduction. The opportunities will only be realised if the threats facing the sector are properly addressed. Enterprise, marketing and management skills are lacking in some places and credit is limited.

Trade liberalisation leaves small-scale dairy farmers open to competition from large-scale corporates able to resond to market changes more easily. Farmers in South Asia and Africa also leave a bigger carbon footprint than farmers in Europe and America. It could be reduced by better animal feeding systems.

Value creation at every stage in the production and marketing chain must be part of the every strategy if consumers are to get more for their money.

Agriculture's June Survey 2010 Provisional Results

The latest June Survey statistics from Defra show the provisional estimates for land use, crop areas and livestock numbers on agricultural holdings on June 1 2010. They give a good idea of trends but they are provisional and could be subject to amendment at a later date.

The agricultural land area in 2010 was 9.3m hectares. The area on agricultural holdings remained unchanged at 8.9m hectares. Common rough grazing remained unchanged at 428,000 hectares. The arable area also remained more or less unchanged at slightly under 3.8m hectares while to total cropping area increased slightly to 3,915,000 hectares from 3,902,000 hectares in 2009 (revised). All regions increased their wheat area.

The number of cattle increased by 1% to 5.5 million. The total breeding herd was up by 0.9% to 1,916,000. There were 756,000 cattle in the beef herd and 1,160,000 in the dairy breeding herd in 2010.

The number of breeding pigs increased to by 1.4% to 427,000 from 421,000. The number of fattening pigs decreased by 2% to 3.2 million. The female breeding herd numbered 351,000 in 2010 and other breeding pigs increased by 10.7% to 76,000 in 2010 which included 15,000 boars. The total number of pigs decreased by 1.6% to 3,630,000.

The female breeding flock remained unchanged at 6.4 million. The fall in the number of lambs from 7.49 million to 7.24 million was a factor in reducing the total number of sheep to 14.1 million from 14.4 million in 2009.