Agricultural prices end the month of January up 1,55%

The Four-weekly Index of Prices Received by Agropecuária Paulista (IqPR), which measures prices paid to rural producers, rose 1,55% in January, according to the Institute of Agricultural Economics (IEA-APTA) of the Secretariat of Agriculture and Supply of the State of São Paulo. State of São Paulo. It was driven by the price index for products of plant origin, which increased by 3,51%, as the price index for products of animal origin fell by 3,32%.

 

Of the products surveyed, nine showed an increase in prices (all of plant origin), while 10 products fell (four of plant origin and six of animal origin). It was the reduction in the rate of increase in tomato prices and the drop in the prices of animal products that allowed the general index to decline from 1,73% in the previous four weeks to the current 1,55%, say researchers Luis Henrique Perez, Danton Leonel de Camargo Bini, Eder Pinatti, José Alberto Angelo and José Sidnei Gonçalves.

 

The most significant increases occurred in tomato prices (49,96%); coffee (11,46%); table oranges (9,28%) and potatoes (7,91%). The increase in tomato prices was due to continued rains that caused harvest losses, with a cyclical impact on the supply of the product in a situation of strong demand and a smaller harvest.

 

Coffee prices increased due to pressure from international and domestic demand and lower stocks, which reached the highest levels in recent years, IEA analysts say. It should be added that the reduction in the harvest, especially in Colombia, opens up space for sales of higher quality Brazilian coffee, such as São Paulo coffee.

 

In turn, table orange prices reflect the impact of typical summer demand on the consumption of natural juices, in an already given supply situation. On the other hand, there is the effect of the rains of the last few days, which made harvesting and transportation difficult, the researchers note.

 

In the case of potatoes, with a favorable supply condition and in significant volumes, there has been an increasing pricing of relative scarcity, analyze IEA technicians. There is a reversal of the downward trend, with the beginning of the cycle of rising prices.

 

The most significant drops were observed in banana prices (13,50%); pork (9,99%); rice (8,05) and peanuts (7,66%).

 

One year period

 

The period from January 2010 to last January shows persistent growth in prices, although animal products show a reversal of the trend with a drop in the last month, say IEA researchers. "Vegetable products had the most exacerbated upward behavior, having shown a significant rate of increase until March, falling in April and a new increase until May after showing a small retreat until July, since when they resumed the upward climb. Animal products showed persistent upward trajectory, albeit at a slower pace, throughout 2010, falling in January 2011."

 

Over the period, the three indices showed positive variations, that is, in the general index, 36,94%; in the vegetable products index, 39,93%; and in the animal products index, 27,85%. The explanation for the increase in agricultural prices in the period cannot be attributed to lower sectoral efficiency, in the researchers' view.

 

Among the explanations, they cite, on the supply side, the fact that 2009 was a year of extremely low prices, the lowest in recent years, for relevant products in the composition of the indices, such as oranges. On the demand side, agricultural prices have shown a firm upward trend since September 2009, a movement that became more intense after January 2010.

 

In the twelve months, the prices of oranges, for example, showed a significant recovery, that is, oranges for industry, 98,35%, and oranges for fresh consumption, 123,50%.

 

"In any case, for many products, the situation in January 2011 shows the formation of expectations that indicate price drops, starting the process of reversing the 2010 highs, due to the entry of the current harvest of vegetable products and the greater supply of animal products (meat, eggs and milk) that reduced all animal protein prices last January", conclude the IEA researchers. (Prepared by the APTA Communications Office).

 

The full analysis is available at www.iea.sp.gov.br.

 

Euzi Dognani

Secretariat Communications Office

(11) 5067-0069

saacomunica@sp.gov.br