Canadian farm product prices in December up 9.5% year-over-year; 4.9% increase in crop prices led by 21.6% increase in fruit; livestock and animal products up 14.1%: Statistics Canada

Andrew Rogers

OTTAWA, Ontario , March 5, 2012 (press release) – Prices farmers received for their commodities in December rose 9.5% from December 2010, as overall livestock and animal product prices and crops prices continued to advance. The total index has trended upward since August 2010, with increases ranging from 5.3% to 19.9%.

Compared with the same month in 2010, the livestock and animal products index (+14.1%) and the crops index (+4.9%) both increased in December. Advances were recorded in all livestock commodities, ranging from 3.3% for dairy to 21.5% for cattle and calves.

All of the livestock commodities recorded year-over-year increases every month in 2011 except for a decrease in the hogs index (-2.8%) in May. Lower on-farm inventories of cattle and hogs in North America and higher feed grain costs have supported the year-over-year growth trends.

The crops index recorded the smallest year-over-year increase since September 2010, largely the result of a decline in the grains index (-2.8%), ending a year-over-year growth trend that started in September 2010. All other commodities advanced. Increases ranged from 2.9% for vegetables to 21.6% for fruit.

Like the grains index, the oilseeds index (+3.7%) started its year-over-year growth trend in September 2010. However, since June 2011, its rate of increase has been slowing. The International Grains Council and the United States Department of Agriculture continued to forecast an increase in total world grain production for 2012.

On a monthly basis, the December index decreased 0.8% as both the livestock and animal products index (-1.4%) and the crops index (-0.7%) fell. It was the third consecutive monthly decline in the overall index.

Note: The growth rate of the total Farm Product Price Index (FPPI) is derived from a weighted average of the component indices using a different set of weights in consecutive months; it is not a weighted average of the growth rates of its crop and livestock components. Given this, the growth rate of the composite FPPI can lie outside the growth rate of these components.

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