Farm Gate Milk Price Now 33.7p

Farm gate milk prices fell by 0.6% or 0.2p/litre to 33.7p/litre because a large number of dairies cut the prices they pay to milk producers during March 2014. The price this March is still up 12% on the price of milk in March last year when the price was 30.07p/litre.

The average butterfat content percentage in March 2014 was provisionally 4.06% and the average protein content percentage was 3.26%.

High Street Sales Increase As Prices Lower Than Last Year

Retail volumes increased by 4.2% compared with March 2013. The value of those sales increased by 3.9%. The prices of those goods sold in March decreased by 0.5%.

There are four main retail sectors, three out of the four saw an increase in the amount spent and for every pound spent in the retail industry in March 42p was spent in food stores, 41p was spent in non-food stores, 6p was spent in non-store retailing and 11p was spent in stores selling automotive fuel. The largest increase was in the non-food sector.

Within non-food stores two areas of growth were notable: textiles, clothing and footwear and household goods. In March 2014 the quantity bought in textile, clothing and footwear stores increased by 7.1%, the largest year on year increase since April 2010. he amount spent increased by 7.3% year on year and 4.3% month on month. The quantity bought in household goods increased by 9.2% compared with March last year and the quantity spent increased by 8.5%.

The distribution of sales values according to businesses ranked by size of business according to number of employees shows that businesses with more than 100 employees sales grew by 0.2%, 40-99 employees grew by -7%, 10-39 employees by 6.1% and 0-9 employees grew most with growth of 16.5%.

No Change In Economic Sentiment

Economic sentiment (ESI) in Europe in February 2014 was largely unchanged at +0.2 in both the euro area and the wider EU. Industry confidence improved slightly (+0.4) and the increase in services confidence (+0.8) was due to a more positive assessment of the past business situation but consumer confidence deteriorated due to expectations regarding savings, unemployment and the economic future. Retail trade confidence improved overall. An improved assessment of order books improved the confidence in the construction sector but in the financial services confidence decreased by 2.5 points.

Employment plans were revised upwards in services but remained unchanged in industry. Selling prices are expected to increase in services and construction but to fall in retail and industry. Consumer price expectations were rounded down.

In the wider EU, services and retail were positive but consumer confidence declined slightly especially in the UK. Employment plans were more negative in industry than in the euro area alone but were unchanged in retail.

Trade Deficit Increases To £2.4bn

The UK trade deficit grew to £2.4bn in May from £2.1bn in April 2013 and £2.3bn in March. The deficit on goods was £8.5bn offset by a surplus of £6.1bn in services. Trade volumes have recovered since the lower levels at the beginning of the year. Trade prices have risen. Total exports increased by £0.4bn or 1.5% to £25.6bn and total imports increased by £0.4bn or 1.3% to £34.1bn. The annual comparison shows that there was a total trade deficit of £2.1bn in May 2012.

Milk Prices Up In May But Butterfat And Protein Content Down

The latest monthly information regarding the prices milk prices and the butterfat and protein content of milk in the UK sujggests that in May 2013 the average farm gate price of milk was 29.82p/litre, up 2.89p/litre on the previous year.

The average butterfat content was 3.91% compared with 3.97% last year and the average protein content was 3.22% compared with 3.24% last year.

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.

Agricultural Prices Down In October

In the Defra API outputs monthly series for October 2012 the total outputs index was 178.6 from 180.1 in September, a fall of 0.8% in the month but there was an increase of 8.7% over the year. In the inputs monthly series the index was 153 from 153.6 the previous month giving a -0.4% change in prices but an increase of 1.2% over the year. There was 0.7% fall in costs of goods and services currently consumed in production from 159.7 to 158.6 over the month.

The agricultural prices index (API) output prices are divided into major crops prices which increased 0.9% over the month giving an index of 201.7 (199.9=2011) and an increase of 0.9% (16.7%) and livestock and livestock products which increased to 162.3 (161.8) or 0.3% (2.5%). These prices reflect what farmers receive for their products.

Animal feed prices, which are a key indicator, showed a 6.3% change in the price of these inputs whereas prices for animal and animal products showed only a 2.5% change in the output price.

Input prices are divided into goods and services currently consumed (eg. fertiliser and seed) which had an index of 158.6 (159.7) or -0.7% (1.3%) and goods and services contributing to investment (eg. tractors and buildings) which had an index of 123.3 (123.1) an increase of 0.2% (0.6%). These are a reflection of the prices farmers have to pay for goods and services.

The outputs annual series index stood at 165.6 in 2011 (145.9 - 2010) with crop products at 152.3 (133.3) and livestock and livestock products at 154.7 (141.4). The inputs annual series stood at 151.2 in 2011 (135.6 - 2010) with goods and services currently consumed at 157.1 (139.1) and goods and services contributing to investment at 122.5 (118.9).

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.

Agricultural Prices Increase In March

The latest national statistics produced by Defra on agricultural price indices in the UK were released recently and show that prices on the whole incrased between February and March 2012 and between 2010 and 2011. The monthly index of producer prices of agricultural products for March 2012 was 169 compared with 166.2 for February, an increase of 1.02%. The annual index for 2011 was 163.7 compared with 2010 when it was 144.9,a 1.13% increase. The monthly index of purchase prices of the means of agricultural production for March 2012 was 152 compared to February's 150.3, giving an increase of 1.01%. The annual index for 2011 was 151.2 up from 135.6 in 2010 or 1.12% increase.

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.

MUICP Of 3% Expected In September

Euro area inflation, measured by the Monetary Union Index of Consumer Prices, is expected to be 3% in September 2011 according to a flash estimate from Eurostat, the Eurpean Union's statistical office.

Food Sales In Record Fall

The value of retail sales increased by 3.8% in May 2011 compared with May 2010 according to a statistical release from the ONS. Sales volume increased by 0.2%. Food sales fell by a record 3.2% in May 2011 compared with April 2011. Prices increased by 3.8% with the highest increases mainly in food stores. Internet sales accounted for 9.4% of all retail sales in May compared with 8.5% in April 2011. The total spent on retail sales during May 2011 was estimated at £25.6bn.

Farm Gate Milk Prices Up In April

The average farm gate price of milk in April 2011 was 26.24p/litre, 2.67p/litre up on last year according to the latest figures from Defra. Butterfat content increased from 3.94% last April to 4.02% this year while protein content fell from 3.23% to 3.22%.

Animal Feed Production And Prices

Retail production of animal feed was 5% down in March 2011 compared with last year. Raw material usage in the retail production of animal feed was also down 4.7%. Integrated feed production was up 0.1% compared with March 2010.

The average price of cattle and calf for the October to December 2010 period was £199 per tonne from £180 per tonne July to September 2010, pig feed was £236 per tonne from £213 and sheep feed was £197 per tonne from £183.

Small Retailers See Larger Increase In Sales In March

The most recent retail sales index published by the ONS shows that the seasonally adjusted value of retail sales increased by 4.5% in March 2011 compared to March 2010 and the volume increased by 1.3%. The index also showed that on a month by month basis sales increased by 0.1% in value and 0.2% in volume between February and March 2011.

The March bulletin also included a supplementary study on small and large retail stores. The non-seasonally adjusted volume decreased by 0.1%. Over the same period large retailers decreased by 1.2% but small retailers increased by 3.9%. The biggest difference between large and small store growth was on food stores. The growth rate for all stores showed a 3.2% decrease but a 4.1% decrease for large stores and a 2.5% decrease for small stores. Food stores can be sub-divided into specialised and non-specialised stores. Non-specialised stores decreased by 3.1% within which large stores decreased by 4.4% but small stores increased by 12.3%. Specialised stores increased by 0.4%.

The non-food stores showed more varied results. Small non-specialised stores saw the biggest increase with 31.2%, followed by small other non-food stores with 8.5% and all other non-food stores with 7.6%. The biggest decrease was in small household goods stores with -10.2% with all household goods stores and large household goods stores following with -8.7% and -8.1% respectively.

Small stores are those with less than 100 employees. Large retailers are those with more than 100 employees or those with less than 100 employees but a turnover greater than £60m. All 900 large retailers were included in the sample. a representative sample of 4,100 small retailers was also included in the sample. The largest growth was in the 10-39 employment group with an average increase of 6.6%, then 0.9 employees with 6.5% average growth, 40-99 reprted 5.2% growth and the group with over 100 employees reported growth of 2.3%.

Price estimates for retail sales between March 2010 and March 2011 rose by 4.4%. The value of Internet sales in March 2011 was £529m or 9.8% of total retail sales in March.

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 Prices And Composition

Farm gate milk prices in October were 1.18p/litre higher than in October 2009 at 25.62p/litre. The average butterfat content was 4.02% compared wth 4.04% last year. Protein was 3.36% the same as last year.

Volume Of Sales Falls But Value Increases In October

The seasonally adjusted value of retail sales in October was 2% up on October 2009 while volume fell by 0.1%. Non-store retailing saw an 11.4% increase on last year. Predominantly food stores saw a 1.9% increase and predominantly non-food stores 2.6%. The volume of non-store retailing increased by 12%, predominantly food stores volume increased by 2% and predominantly non-food by 2.5%. Prices were estimated to have risen by 2.2% over the year. The value of Internet sales was £543m or 9.6% of total retail sales (ONS).

House Prices Higher Than August Last Year

House prices in the UK were 8.3% up on August last year and 0.7% up on last month according to the DCLG. The average price of a house in the UK in August was £213,116. Prices in creased in England, Wales and Scotland but fell in N.Ireland. First time buyers were paying 8.2% more than last year and former owners were paying 8.3% more. New property prices were 8.6% more and pre-owned property was 8.3% higher than August last year.