Statistics Centre – Abu Dhabi (SCAD) issued today its agricultural producer price index (APPI) report for vegetables crops the second half of 2012.
According to the report, the general APPI for vegetable crops advanced by 3.3 percent from 103.1 points to 106.5 points between the first and the second half of 2012. The rise reflects the net outcome of upward and downward changes in the prices of vegetables supplied to the emirate’s marketing centers during the second six months of 2012 compared with the first half of the same year.
The largest contributors to the increases in the APPI (i.e. individual increases in the sub-indices for each crop) recorded during the aforesaid comparison period were: pepper (9.67 percent), potatoes (8.97 percent), cauliflower (up 8.9 percent), marrow (8.72 percent), eggplant (up 8.51 percent), Garden Rocket (up 7.97 percent), beets (up 7.70 percent), turnip (up 7.64 percent), watermelon (up 7.42 percent), Jews Mallow (up 7.07 percent), cabbage (up 7.04 percent), carrot (up 6.93 percent), peas (up 6.29 percent), coriander (up 6.29 percent), sweet melon (up 5.91 percent), tomato (up 5.78 percent), beans (up 5.78 percent), corn (up 5.76 percent ), cucumber (up 5.04 percent), broad beans (up 5.04 percent) and parsley (up 2.18 percent), with an overall relative importance of 98 percent.
On the other hand the APPI sub-indices declined for a number of crops, including, onions (down 8.06 percent) and lettuce (down 6.11 percent), with the price falls having a combined relative importance of 2 percent.
The second half of 2012/2011 As the report finds, the general APPI for vegetable crops increased by 5.6 points from 100.9 points in the second half of 2011 to 106.5 points in the second half of 2012.
The most significant increases in the APPI sub-indices were recorded for pepper (up 16.7 percent), eggplant (up 9.3 percent), beans (up 8.3 percent), tomatoes (up 8.1 percent), sweet melons (up 8.1 percent), garden rocket (up 6.7 percent), marrow (up 6.5 percent), cucumber (up 6.4 percent), broad beans (up 4.9 percent), coriander (up 4.2 percent), turnip (up 3.1 percent), cabbage (up 3.1 percent), beets (up 2.9 percent), Jews mallow (up 1.8 percent), potato (up 1.6 percent), parsley (up 1.2 percent), peas (up 0.4 percent), with an overall relative importance of 76 percent.
By contrast, the sub-index retreated for some crops, including carrots (down 7.92 percent), onions (down 4.43 percent), corn (down 4.0 percent), lettuce (down 3.45 percent), cauliflower (down 2.75 percent) and watermelons (down 2.01 percent). The overall relative importance of the price falls was 24.0 percent.
Significance of the APPI The study of agricultural prices is important in providing relevant data for informed decision making by investors in the agricultural sector as prices represent important indicators affecting the economic and social life of farmers and directly reflecting on their incomes and standards of living. Agricultural prices data also provide the authorities concerned with appropriate indicators that enable them maintain equilibrium between production costs and selling prices offered to the consumer, in order to protect the interests of both producers and consumers. This set of data is also useful to farmers in the planning and development of their production, to help them maximize their returns and avoid potential losses.
The Centre emphasized the importance of the agricultural producer price index in planning and research, stressing the role of SCAD’s Agriculture and Water Statistics Sections in the collection and dissemination of data on the quantities and values of the produce supplied to the agricultural marketing centers, while ensuring conformity with international methodologies in this field.
