Farm Product Price Index

Prices farmers received for their commodities in October rose 12.2% from October 2010, as overall livestock and animal product prices and crops prices continued to advance. October marked the 15th consecutive year-over-year increase, 11 of which have been double digit.

The 12-month change in the Farm Product Price Index

Chart description: The 12-month change in the Farm Product Price Index

Compared with the same month in 2010, the livestock and animal products index (+16.3%) and the crops index (+7.4%) both increased in October.

Relative to October 2010, advances were recorded in all livestock commodities, continuing an upward trend that started in January 2011. All of the livestock commodities have recorded year-over-year increases since January 2011 except for a slight decrease in May for the hogs index (-0.6%).

The cattle and calves index (+18.4%) and the hogs index (+27.3%) continued their year-over-year growth trend that started in spring 2010. Lower inventories of cattle and hogs in North America and higher feed grain costs have contributed to their higher prices.

The supply-managed commodities' (poultry, eggs and dairy) prices are determined using a cost of production formula. Higher feed costs drove the increase.

On the crops side, all commodities rose except for vegetables (-6.2%). The increases ranged from 2.9% for grains to 31.5% for specialty crops. Year-over-year, grains, oilseeds and specialty crops prices continued an upward trend that started in September 2010 for grains and oilseeds and in April 2011 for specialty crops. For specialty crops, tighter Canadian and world supplies as well as a higher quality harvest for some crops were experienced.

On a monthly basis, the October index slightly decreased 1.1% as a lower crops index (-3.6%) more than offset the increase in the livestock and animal products index (+2.6%).

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.

Available on CANSIM: tables 002-0021 and 002-0022.

Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 5040.

The October 2011 issue of Farm Product Price Index, Vol. 11, no. 10 (21-007-X, free), is now available from the Key resource module of our website under Publications.

For more information, or to order data, call Client Services (toll-free 1-800-465-1991). To enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Gail-Ann Breese (204-983-3445; fax: 204-983-7543; gail-ann.breese@statcan.gc.ca), Agriculture Division.