Agricultural producer prices up by 9.4%

In the first quarter 2012, the producer price index for agricultural products stood at 130.59 points, an increase of 11.21 points ( 9.4%) when compared to the first quarter last year.

Producer prices for fresh vegetables advanced by 37.2%, resulting from an overall decrease in the supply of fresh vegetables on the market. Higher producer prices were recorded for cauliflowers ( 88.6%), lettuce ( 81.8%) and vegetable marrows ( 71.4%). Producer prices for fresh vegetables were partially mitigated by a drop in prices of tomatoes, green beans and mushrooms by 8.7, 19.6 and 31.1% respectively.

During the first quarter, the fruit price index went up by 18.0%. This was mainly due to a decrease in citrus fruit production, mainly oranges, the price of which rose by 19.2% over the comparative period in 2011.

The animal slaughtering index rose by 2.8% over the first quarter last year, as higher prices were registered for cows ( 19.4%), bulls ( 19.0%) and pigs ( 5.6%), while the price of poultry declined by 4.1%. Furthermore, the animal products index rose by 5.6% on account of higher producer prices fetched for eggs ( 15.3%) and milk ( 2.0%).

Input Price Index

The input price index for agriculture increased by 1.4%, from 135.59 points in the first quarter of 2011 to 137.50 points, mainly due to higher fuel prices.

The goods and services index went up by 1.0% on account of higher prices paid for motor fuels ( 9.4%) and maintenance of buildings ( 3.3%). On the other hand, a drop of 1.3% was registered in the prices of animal feeding stuffs.

The machinery and investment index advanced by 6.3% on account of higher prices paid for materials ( 6.0%) and buildings ( 6.6%) over the corresponding period last year.