Food prices higher than last year |
21/11/2017 |
Consumer prices of food were higher in September than in the same month last year. Although the price for fresh vegetables is hardly 1% higher and for bread more than 1%, the difference for other prices is considerable, with outliers for dairy and eggs, which increased by respectively more than 9% and almost 7% compared to September last year. In August and September, though, the consumer price for potatoes dropped by more than 7% and the price for eggs increased by 2% compared to July of this year. Other consumer prices in this period hardly changed. The price index for consumer dairy in these two months is at a record high of 116 points (2010=100). The high demand for beef on the international market meant the large domestic supply could be absorbed without price decreases. Dairy farmers also profitied from an 8% higher price for dairy since July and a 30% higher price than last year. The Fipronil crisis and the resulting shortages resulted in farm-gate prices for eggs that were more than 35% higher than in July and 52% higher than in September last year. Of course, closed down farms could not benefit from this situation. Due to supply chain contracts, the shortages are barely noticeable in the consumer prices. Since the previous decrease, the farm-gate prices for potatoes have further decreased by 40% and are now 16% below last year's level. Because yields are vast, prices will probably remain low. This appears from the Food Price Monitor of Wageningen Economic Research and Statistics Netherlands, which monitors the prices of a number of products in three links of the chain: consumer price (CPI), producer price (PPI) and farm-gate price (API). The PPI reflects the prices at which supermarkets buy their produce. The information is quantified and updated monthly; explanatory notes cover two months.
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