The producer price index for agricultural products increased by 12.4 per cent, from 106.56 points in the third quarter of 2009 to 119.75 points in the corresponding quarter this year.

An increase of 44.3 per cent was registered in the fresh vegetables price index, resulting from a general decrease in the supply of fresh vegetables in the third quarter. As a result, higher producer prices were recorded for sugar melons (+149.5 per cent), water melons (+146.0 per cent) and tomatoes (+18.8 per cent). Similarly, the price of potatoes rose by 54.3 per cent over the comparative quarter, as a result of a sharp decline in the supply of this crop.

During the period under review, the fruit price index went up by 4.6 per cent. This was mainly due to an increase in prices fetched for peaches (+32.2 per cent) and grapes (+2.9 per cent).

The animal slaughtering index went up by 1.2 per cent over the comparative period, as higher prices were registered for cows (+8.0 per cent) and rabbits (+2.3 per cent). Similarly, the animal products index rose by 3.5 per cent on account of higher producer prices fetched for eggs (+26.2 per cent), while prices for raw milk dropped by 4.4 per cent.

The input price index for agriculture edged up by 2.1 per cent to 122.76 points.

The good and services index, which registers running costs movements, rose by 2.3 per cent over the comparative period last year. This rise was attributed to higher prices of motor fuels (+10.0 per cent), maintenance of buildings (+4.0 per cent) and materials (+1.0 per cent). A decline of 1.5 per cent was registered in the prices of animal feeding stuffs.

The machinery and investment index rose marginally by 0.5 per cent on account of higher prices paid for materials (+1.1 per cent), although the buildings index dropped by 0.1 per cent over the corresponding period last year.

Permalink: Agricultural output & input prices both rise in third quarter