NSO confirms hike in veg prices

Agriculture prices rose steeply in the first quarter of this year, figures issued by the NSO this morning confirmed.

The producer price index for agricultural products stood at 113.3 points, an increase of 13.9 points (+14.0 percent) from 99.4 points in the first quarter of 2007.

An increase of 50.5 percent was registered in the fresh vegetables price index, resulting from a general decrease in the supply of fresh vegetables on the market.

Higher producer prices were recorded for vegetable marrows (+117.6 per cent), cauliflowers (+79.4 per cent) and onions (+48.8 per cent). On the other hand, the comparative period saw a decline in the average price of potatoes of 7.7 per cent.

The fruit price index registered a decline of 27.2 per cent when compared to the same quarter last year, to stand at 108.5 points. This was mainly due to an increase in the supply of citrus fruit, mainly oranges, the price of which decreased by 42.6 per cent.

The animals slaughtering index declined by 2.6 per cent as lower prices were registered for slaughtered bulls (-22.8 per cent) and pigs (-5.0 per cent). The price for slaughtered rabbits rose by 2.3 per cent. The animal products index increased by 22.8 per cent due to higher producer prices fetched for raw milk (+31.9 per cent), while the price of eggs remained unchanged.

Input Price Index

The input price index for agriculture increased by 22.5 per cent, from 103.0 points in the first quarter of 2007 to 126.1 points, mainly due to higher feeding costs.