Farm Product Price Index, December 2012
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Released: 2013-03-05
The Farm Product Price Index (FPPI) rose 1.8% in December compared with December 2011, the second consecutive increase, following declines in September and October. Prior to that, the FPPI had observed year-over-year increases starting in August 2010, most of which had been double digit. An increase in the crops index more than offset the decrease in the overall livestock and animal products index.
Chart 1
The 12-month change in the Farm Product Price Index
The crops index rose 4.4% in December compared with December 2011, largely the result of the higher oilseed index (+13.9%), which continued a growth trend that had started in September 2010. Oilseed prices have been supported by growing demand and concerns over tight supplies. Canola continued its record crush rate, with just over 3 million tonnes crushed during the first part of the 2012/2013 crop year. The final 2012 canola production was estimated to be 7.8% below the 2011 production level. In the United States, soybean production—that country's largest oilseed crop—was also below for the 2012 crop compared with the previous year's production.
Grains (+1.5%) and vegetables (+2.5%) made more modest contributions, while declines in specialty crops, fruits and potatoes tempered the crops index increase.
The livestock and animal products index fell 0.9% in December compared with December 2011. This was its fifth consecutive year-over-year decline, which followed a growth trend that had started in May 2010.
Declines in the hogs index (-10.4%) and the cattle and calves index (-0.6%) were responsible for the decrease in the livestock and animal products index. This was the fifth consecutive decline for the hogs index. In 2012, hog inventories in both Canada (July 1) and the United States (September 1) had reached their highest levels since 2008.
Moderating the decrease were gains in the supply-managed commodities: poultry (+9.7%), eggs (+6.7%) and dairy (+1.2%).
Compared with November, the December FPPI declined 0.2% as a decrease in the crops index more than offset the increase in the livestock and animal products index.
Note to readers
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.
The December 2012 issue of Farm Product Price Index, Vol. 12, no. 9 (Catalogue number21-007-X), is now available from the Browse by key resource module of our website under Publications.
Contact information
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