In the first quarter, the producer and input price indices for agriculture dropped by 13.5 and 3.5 per cent respectively over the corresponding period last year, the National Statistics Office said today.

The quarterly producer price index for agricultural products stood at 108.08 points, a decrease of 13.5 per cent from 124.98 points in the corresponding quarter of 2013.

A drop of 34.5 per cent was registered in the fresh vegetables price index, resulting from a general increase in the supply of fresh vegetables on the market. As a result, lower producer prices were registered for onions (-75.2 per cent), vegetable marrows (-33.1 per cent) and green beans (-23.8 per cent).

During the period under review, prices for fresh fruit decreased by 25.7 per cent due to an increase in citrus fruit production, mainly oranges, the price of which declined by 39.3 per cent over the comparative period last year.

The animal slaughtering index went down by 2.2 per cent, as lower prices were registered for all slaughtered animals, mainly bulls (-14.6 per cent) and poultry (-4.9 per cent).

Furthermore, the animal products index decreased by 7.8 per cent on account of lower producer prices fetched for milk (-11.8 per cent).

The quarterly input price index for agriculture declined by 3.5 per cent, from 117.62 points in the first quarter of 2013 to 113.53 points in the quarter under review.

The goods and services index, which records movements in running costs, went down by 4.6 per cent over the comparative period last year. This drop was attributed to lower prices of animal feeding stuffs (-9.2 per cent), fertilisers (-9.1 per cent) and motor fuels (-1.5 per cent).

The machinery and investment index edged up by 1.6 per cent on account of higher prices paid for buildings (+1.8 per cent) and materials (+1.4 per cent) over the corresponding period last year.

Photograph: Copyright Alain Salvary

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