Monthly farming and food brief – October 2012
Headlines this month include:
Prices in World grain markets have been largely stable over the past three months following the large increases in June and July. In the UK, the 2012 harvest was affected by poor weather. Early Defra figures released showed lower yields for wheat (down 14 per cent), barley (2.7 per cent) and oilseed rape (13 per cent). The annual rate of food price inflation fell to 2.0 per cent in September (the lowest level since June 2010) and is currently below general CPI inflation, running at 2.2 per cent. The farmgate milk price increased by 3.4 per cent in September. Latest data from the Farm Business Survey in England shows that in 2011/12 average incomes increased substantially on both lowland and Less Favoured Area (LFA) grazing livestock farms.
Earlier farming and food briefs can be found here. Other food and farming statistics can be found here.
