March 26, 2012

 

EU feed wheat and corn prices are showing a slight upward trend, although they are still below last year's figures, according to reports.

 

Over the last year the prices slid gradually to reach a low of EUR171.73 (US$228) in November last year since when they have been on a gradual increase.

 

Feed corn prices slipped in August last year but have now started to show a small recovery.

 

In February they stood at EUR195.53 (US$259) per tonne, but this is compared to prices in the same month last year of nearly EUR230 (US$305).

 

Flour wheat prices are also down on last year by about EUR13 (US$17), standing at EUR280.13 (US$371.38) in February compared to EUR293.52 (US$389.13) in the same month last year.

 

Feed oat, feed barley and malting barley prices are similar to last year at EUR188.60 (US$250.03), EUR199.65 (US$264.68) and EUR237.70 (US$315.13) respectively.

 

In the livestock sector, beef prices have been consistently above last year's prices with the January and February prices this year reaching EUR381.99 (US$506.42) and EUR371.79 (US$492.90) per 100 kilogramme carcase weight compared to EUR348.68 (US$462.26) and EUR351 (US$465.33) for the same time last year. Dairy cow prices and veal calf prices have also remained consistently higher than last year.

 

In the dairy sector, intervention quality milk powder prices that reached a peak in January this year at EUR251.41 (US$333.30) per 100 kilogramme fell back to EUR230.42 (US$305.48), below the prices for the same month last year when they stood at EUR243.34 (US$332.60).

 

Similar to the cattle prices, pig prices are up on last year and have remained consistently higher than the previous year's prices over the whole of the last year.

 

While they slipped slightly in January to EUR151.41 (US$200.73) from EUR159.34 (US$211.24) in December last year, they rose again in February to EUR157.83 (US$209.24) per 100 kilogramme. In February last year the prices stood at EUR144.04 (US$190.96).

 

In the poultry sector, poultry meat prices are coming back toward last year's prices having reached a high of EUR193.51 (US$256.54) per 100 kilogramme in August last year.

 

In January and February they were EUR184.27 (US$244.30) and EUR185.27 (US$245.62) compared to EUR176.44 (US$233.91) and EUR179.33 (US$237.72) for the same period a year ago.

 

Egg prices have soared in the latter half of 2011 and appear to be continuing to rise. Shell egg prices hit EUR150.72 (US$199.80) per 100 kilogramme in February having risen from EUR137.49 (US$182.27) in January. The prices in January and February 2011 were EUR105.93 (US$140.42) and EUR111.37 (US$147.63).

 

The higher prices for the livestock and poultry sector can largely be attributed to high feed prices over the last year although the rapid rise in egg prices could also be the result of the changes to the regulations and the ban on battery cages and the insistence on enriched cages for laying hens, reducing the amount of product on the market. The change in regulations has also been seen by the EU Commission poultry forecasting group as a major reason for rising egg prices.

 

The EU is also predicting a drop in consumption, which is also likely to have a knock on effect on egg prices. Germany, France and Hungary are predicting an increase this year, but the big egg producers in Spain, the UK, Italy and the Netherlands are forecasting decreases.

 

With most feed prices now under those of last year, there could be repercussions for the livestock and poultry sectors stabilising prices, but this could take some time to come through.