April 10, 2012

China's agricultural commodities prices soar

As prices of seeds, fertiliser and diesel oil all saw double-digit jumps in Q1, the skyrocketing prices of China's agricultural necessities will cut agribusiness margins and raise inflationary pressures, analysts warned Thursday (Apr 5), Global Times reported.

"Rising agricultural material prices are mainly caused by surging oil prices and speculative trade in the market," Hu Dinghuan, a researcher with the Institute of Agricultural Economics and Development under the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, told the Global Times.

In March, corn and cotton seed prices rose by up to 15% on-year, while prices of major fertilisers, such as chlorpyrifos and compound fertiliser, climbed more than 10%, according to figures provided by the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA), the newspaper said.