Producer price index for agriculture up 9.9%

In the second quarter of 2015, the producer price index for agriculture increased by 9.9 per cent, while a drop of 1.4 per cent was registered in the input price index over the comparative period in 2014.

The quarterly producer price index for agricultural products stood at 111.63 points, an increase of 9.9 per cent over 2014, when it stood at 101.57 points.

Underpinning this result was an increase of 55.5 per cent in the fresh vegetables price index due to a general drop in the supply of fresh vegetables. Higher producer prices were registered for all vegetables under review except for mushrooms and lettuce which decreased by 4.8 and 0.2 per cent respectively.

The fruit price index registered an increase of 2.5 per cent, resulting from a general decrease in the supply of fresh fruit. Higher producer prices were registered for almost all fruit, mainly citrus (34.2 per cent), peaches (14.0 per cent) and strawberries (6.2 per cent).

The animal slaughtering index went down by 3.0 per cent, as lower prices of 6.5 and 3.8 per cent were registered for poultry and pigs. Furthermore, the animal products index decreased by 3.0 per cent on account of lower producer prices fetched for milk and eggs by 3.5 and 1.6 per cent respectively.

The quarterly input price index for agriculture stood at 112.19 points, down by 1.4 per cent, compared to 2014, when it stood at 113.79 points.

The goods and services index which records movements in running costs, decreased by 3.1 per cent over the comparative period last year. This drop was mainly attributed to lower prices of 7.3 and 6.7 per cent for motor fuels and animal feeding stuffs respectively.

The machinery and investment index went up by 5.8 per cent due to higher prices paid for buildings (7.4 per cent) and materials (2.8 per cent)