High Supply And Low Demand Hit Fruit And Veg Prices

Wholesale fruit and vegetable prices reflect end of season high supplies and low demand fluctuations during October. Apples and pears prices have fallen due to high supply and low demand, raspberries and strawberries supplies fell but demand was still low and prices for raspberries increased but strawberry prices fell.

On the vegetable side, cauliflower prices fell by more than 30% due to increased supply, cucumber demand remained firm but supplies fell resulting in a price rise of 21.8%, iceberg lettuces prices fell by 22% because of increased supplies and quality concerns, peas prices rose by 39.5% due to supply problems, cherry tomatoes prices increased by 17.1% and plum tomatoes by 11% due to short supply.

API Indices Down On Last Year

The all outputs price index fell by 0.1% in February 2014 and is now 7.1% lower than the same time last year. All inputs price index increased 0.8% in February 2014 and is 4.3% lower than last February.

Sheep and lamb prices rose 5% in February and are 20% higher than last February. Demand at home and abroad and a weaker pound are making exports more competitive on the continent. Fresh fruit prices fell to 27% lower than last February and by 2.2% this February because of high prices due to short supplies after last years poor harvest.

Vegetable prices fell by 5.3% and are 8% down on last year. Cabbages, lettuce and carrots reported a significant fall in prices. The exception was cauliflowers which reported a 32% increase in price during February due to limited supplies which saw price rises.

Fertiliser prices rose 2.4% and are 7% lower than last year. Phosphates and potash prices are improving and nitrogen prices are increasing.

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.

Agricultural Prices Up On Same Month Last Year

The agricultural price index for all outputs fell by 1.1% in June but on the annual comparison prices remain 10% higher than the same time last year. Input prices were 0.8% up in June and remain 5.4% up on the same month last year.

Early potato prices are up on last year and there was a slight increase on vegetable prices. Animal and animal produce prices increased 2.6% and are 8.7% higher than the same time last year.

Change To Defra's API Base Year

The first publication of the agricultural prices index using the new 2010 base year was published by Defra on 18 July 2013. Slight changes are expected when compared to the 2005 base year price series.

The agricultural price index for all outputs in May rose by 1% and remains 12% up on last year. The price index for all inputs fell by 1.2% in May and is 4.6% higher than last year.

All outputs prices increased 1% in May and 11.8% over the year. Crop products prices increased 1.1% on the monthly comparison and 17.7% on the annual comparison. Potato prices continue to rise due to low supply of last seasons potatoes and a late start to the harvest of new season potatoes. Fresh fruit prices fell 28% in May mainly due to a 32% fall in the price of strawberries due to an increase in supply. Vegetable prices did not change much. Tomato prices fell 20% due to increased supplies of imported tomatoes. Lettuce and onion prices increased as a result of reduced supplies. Animal and animal produce prices fell slightly by 1.1% but remain 6.4% up on the same time last year.

The prices of agricultural inputs fell 1.2% in May but remain 4.6% up over the year. Motor fuel fell by 3.5% and is therefore 6.9% lower than last year. Nitrogen prices are 14% down because of lower demand and retailers are reducing prices to increase sales. Animal feeds prices remained more or less stable (-0.4%) and 15.7% above prices last year.

Agricultural Prices Good For Producers In October

The agricultural prices indices statistical relaease from Defra for October 2010 shows prices received by producers for agricultural products increased slightly in October 2010 and purchase prices paid by producers for agricultural products excluding subsidies decreased slightly.

The prices indices for prices received by producers for cereals increased to 218.8 in October 2010 from 197.1 in September 2010. Industrial crops prices increased to 139.7 from 138.3. Fresh vegetables increased in price from 121.3 to 130.9. and the total index number for crop products was 166.2 up from 157.6 in September. Animals and animal products indices total was 139.7 from 139.2 in September 2010. The overall total was 150.6 up from 148.0.

Prices indices for prices paid by producers for agriculural products included seeds at 117.0 from 99.6, energy and lubricants 151.2 from 147.4, fertilizers and soil improvers decreased to 198.4 from 230.4. Plant protection products price index increased to 106.0 from 105.7. Animal feedingstuffs indices totalled 166.1 up from 163.3. The plant maintenance and repair index remained unchanged at 128.1. The maintenance and repair of buildings index increased slightly to 133.1 from 133.0. Veterinary services increased slightly from 132.8 to 132.9. Machinery and other equipment went up to 126.9 from 126.6. The total index for all goods and services contributing to investment decreased to 120.1 from 120.4. All means of agricultural production decreased from 140.7 to 136.9 in Octber 2010.

Family Food 2009

The Family Food 2009 annual report published by Defra recently showed that food prices were on average 5% higher in 2009 than in 2008 and consumers spent 3.6% more on food and drink. Food was less of a burden on low household incomes quintiles than in 2008 with the percentage spent on food and non-alcoholic drinks falling from 16.8% to 15.8% of total expenditure. In terms of calories consumers bought 1.2% more food but bought 3.1% less fruit and vegetables. Dietary nutrition indicators suggest a slightly negative shift in 2009. Defra also tells us in its WRAP survey that in 2008 15% of all food purchased was wasted.

Consumer Inflation At 3.2%

Annual inflation increased from 3.1% in September to 3.2% last month according to figures released by ONS. The main upward pressure for the change came from petrol and diesel, financial services and games, toys and hobbies (mainly computer games bought in shops rather than online) and the main downward pressure came from food prices. Vegetable prices fell 1% and meat prices were unchanged but went up last year. The index stands at 115.2.

There was an increase of 0.3% over the month. The most significant contributions came from recreation and culture (games, toys and hobbies 1.9% and cultural services 1.7%) and transport (fuels and lubricants 1.8%). Downward pressure over the month came from furniture, household equipment and maintenance (furniture and furnishings -3.4%) and clothing and footwear (-0.7% largely from garments).

4.2% Rise In Production

The index of production increased by 4.2% in August compared with August 2009. The manufacturing index showed an increase of 6% over the same period. The annual index also showed that 10 of the 13 sub-sectors increased production but it fell in 3 sub-sectors. The biggest increases were in machinery and equipment with 16% and food, drink and tobacco with 7.7%. The main contributors sectors within machinery and equipment were machinery for the production of mechanical power with a 41% increase and the manufacture of 'other special machinery' with 26.4%. The processing and preserving of fish, fruit and vegetables was the main contributor in the food, drink and tobacco sub-sector with 32.8% growth and next came bread, biscuits, pastry goods and cake with 15.3%.

Agricultural Inputs Prices Rise Again

The index of prices received by producers for all agricultural products returned to its May level of 137.5 from the June level of 137.9 in July 2010. Crop products increased from 138.6 to 139.4 but animals and animal products fell from 137.9 to 137.5. Within crop products, the cereals index increased from 142.5 to 144.6 and industrial crops from 136.5 to 157.9. Fresh vegetables fell to 127.9 from 131.1. These prices exclude subsidies.

Prices received for cereals fell again in 2009 from 207.1 in 2008 to 150.1 and industrial crops from 232.9 to 183.4 respectively. Farm gate prices for fresh vegetables also fell in 2009 from 117.5 to 113.9. The index for the total for all products fell from 143.3 to 135.8 in 2009.

The index of prices paid by producers for agricultural inputs shows that the prices paid for seed fell from 101.5 to 99.6 in Jul 2009, fertilisers and soil improvers fell to 244.3 from 245.7. Plant protection products remained unchanged at 99.9. The animal feedingstuffs index increased from 156.1 to 159.9. The overall index for agricultural inputs increased for the fifth consecutive month from 137.2 to 139.7 in July 2010.

The annual series shows that the overall index for prices paid by producers for agricultural inputs fell from 139.6 in 2008 to 132.9 in 2009.

Inflation Up 3.7%

The CPI for May rose by less than in April but it is still far higher than the Government target of 2%. It rose by 3.7% in April. The index was 114.4. The RPI at 223.6 rose by 5.1% down from 3.7% last month. The RPIX (RPI excluding mortgage interest payments) rose to 222.8 or by 5.1%, down from 5.4% the previous month.

The main contributory sectors to the change in the CPI were food and non-alcoholic beverages chiefly meat and in particular pork and fruit particularly grapes. Vegetables also had a small downward effect. Transport also had a downward effect as did the purchase of new cars and road passenger transport. Alcoholic beverages and tobacco, recreation and culture both had large downward effects. Books had a small upward effect. Housing and household services provided the only large upward contribution.

The RPI experienced a large downward contribution from food, fruit particularly grapes and mayonnaise and meat. Motoring expenditure and the purchase of motor vehicles made downward effects. The price of alcohol rose but by less than a year ago. Small downward contributions came from leisure services in particular foreign holidays, tobacco prices rising by less than a year ago and from household services again prices rising by less than a year ago. A small upward contribution was made by household goods where there were price rises. Furniture, in particular, kitchen base units provided the upward effect partially offset by a downward effect from furnishings.

Producer Prices Index Of Agricultural Products

The producer prices index of agricultural products for cereals was 114.9 in February 2010 down from 116.1 in January. The annual series index of cereals in 2009 was 150.1 down from 207.1 in 2008 an unusually high index in the series since 2003. Industrial crops for February increased from 123.8 to 124.6 and vegetables decreased from 127.3 to 121.6. Animals and animal products decreased from 143.2 to 140.9. The all products total index decreased slightly from 137.4 to 136.6 in February. The total of all products index for 2009 decreased from 143.3 to 135.5.

The purchase prices index of agricultural inputs includes seeds, crop protection products and fertilizers as well as feedingstuffs and energy. Seeds were unchanged at 104.5 in February, sprays were also unchanged at 99.9 but the fertilizer index increased from 209.8 in January to 214.7 in February 2010. The index of feedingstuffs increased from 154.3 to 156.2 over the month between January and February. The energy and lubricants index decreased from 152.8 to 149.1. The maintenance and repair of plant index was 125.3 from 125.4, of buildings 125.8 from 123.8, veterinary services went from 105.2 from 105.0. Cultivation and harvesting machinery, tractors and other machinery and equipment increased from 125.0 to 125.1. Buildings increased from 122.1 to 123.6. The index of all means for agricultural production for February 2010 went up to 122.2 from 121.7 in January and for 2009 the index was down to 133.1 from the sharp increase to 139.6 in 2008 from 113.8 in 2007.

Production Figures For January

The latest Index of Production from the Office for National Statistics says that the index of production fell by 1.5% compared with last year and the index of manufacturing rose by 0.2% compared with January last year

In the manufacturing sector 4 of the 13 categories reported increases while 9 fell. The largest increases in transport, in particular the manufacture motor vehicles which increased by 38.9%, and the manufacture of aircraft and spacecraft which increased by 14.1%. Food, drink and tobacco also increased, in particular meat and meat products by 12.6%, and the processing of fish, fruit and vegetables by 11.6%.

Final June Agricultural Survey Results, England 2009

The final June Survey results for England were released by DEFRA and ONS on 19 November 2009. Some of the key results were that the total area of agricultural holdings in England has increased to 9.4m hectares since 2008. The total croppable area is estimated at 4.9m hectares. The area cropped has fallen to 3.99m hectares but the total land out of arable production stands at 231,000 hectares. Fruit and vegetables grown outdoors account for 140,000 hectares, up 2% on 2008. Common rough grazing stands at 427,900 ha. The total agricultural area has increased in size again this year to 9.8m ha.

Owner occupied land is largely the same as 2008 at 6.3m ha. Land rented for more than a year is also unchanged at 3.3m ha. The area under Full Agricultural Tenancy agreements (FAT) continued to decrease, by 2.9%, to 1,680,900 ha and Farm Business Tenancies have increased 3.8% to 1,094,400 ha. Other agreements have risen to 497,800 ha, up 2.2%.

The national herd of cattle remained at around 5.5m according to the Cattle Tracing Scheme. There were 3.9m pigs, up 0.5%. These included 444,000 breeding pigs. The national sheep flock was 14,984,000 sheep and lambs, down 3.5% on June 2008. The female breeding flock of 6,672,000, down 5.1% on last year, included 5,550,000 ewes for further breeding and 797,00 first time breeding ewes. 326,000 ewes were intended for slaughter. Rams totalled 171,000, down 5.4% on 2008.

The total number of people employed in agricultural was 363,000 up nearly 3,000 from last year. These included 223,000 farmers, business partners, directors and spouses of which 127,200 were part-time, 11,900 salaried managers and 127,800 other workers, 49,400 of which were full-time, the rest part-time or seasonal/casual or gang workers.

Agricultural Prices Index For September 2009

The agricultural producer and purchase prices indices for 2008-9 to September 2009 were published by DEFRA last week. The survey includes producer price indices for cereals, industrial crops, fresh fruit and vegetables, seeds, flowers and plants and other crop products as well as for animals and animal products. The survey includes purchase price indices for seeds, energy and lubricants, plant protection products and animal feedingstuffs. It also includes costs for the maintenance and repair of plant and buildings, veterinary services, costs of other goods and services, machinery, plant and other equipment and buildings. The totals for all products and all means of agricultural production are also included in the survey.

The indices for all products were 143.3 for 2008 from 118.8 for 2007 and 130.2 in September 2009 from 130.8 in August and the indices for all the means of agricultural production were 130 for September 2009 from 131.1 in August and 139.7 for 2008 from 113.8 in 2007 (2005 = 100).

June Survey Results From DEFRA

The preliminary estimates of the June Agricultural and Horticultural Survey of the UK for 2009 have been published by DEFRA. The final results will be published later in the year but the preliminary results still give a good estimation of trends in land use, crop areas and livestock.

Agricultural land areas in the UK have increased by 2% since June 2008 and the total croppable area is now 6.2 million hectares. Of the 36% of agricultural land that is considered croppable about half is under cereals, another 20% is temporary grassland. Unused arable land, including bare fallow and GAEC12 land, has increased by 25% to 244,000 hectares.

Arable returns show that the estimated total cereal cropping area in the UK has decreased by 5% to 3.1 million hectares since last year. Wheat accounts for 1.8 million hectares or 70% of cereals, 14% lower than last year and barley, which accounts for 1.15 million hectares, is 12% higher at 26%. The area of land under potatoes has increased again this year by 3.4% to 1.48 million hectares. Oilseeds continue to decrease in area, now at 6.02 million hectares, a 3.4% change on last year. Other field crops have shown a 21.3% increase in area to 6.39 million hectares largely due to large increases in the area of field beans, peas and maize.

Pease and beans have decreased in area to 403,000 hectares but all other vegetables and salads have increased in total area to 814,000 hectares.

National livestock herd sizes of cattle, sheep and pigs have decreased since June 2008. The total number of cattle and calves has decreased by 0.8% to slightly more than 10 million, the breeding herd has decreased by 3% to 3.5 million due to decreases of 3% in both the beef herd and in the dairy herd to 1.6 and 1.9 million respectively. Pigs decreased by 2% from June 2008 to 4.6 million. Breeding sows numbered 440,000, up 5%. The total number of sheep and lambs decreased by 4% to 31.8 million. There were 14.8 million breeding ewes, a decrease of 5% and other sheep and lambs decreased by 3% to 17 million.

Shop Price Index Down

The British Retail Consortium's Shop Price Index year-on-year index fell from 2.0% in March to 1.4% in April. It is the first time it has fallen since December 2008 when there was a cut in VAT. The month-to-month index fell by 0.5%. Non-food goods are cheaper than a month ago because of discounting. Food is also cheaper this month signalling a possible end to the worst of food price inflation. Retailers’ attempts to keep shopping bills down are being prevented by rising farm gate prices for meat and vegetables.