Over 200 farmers from around the country have so far taken part
in the
Farmers Weekly/NFU Inputs Price Monitor, giving an accurate
picture of how much they are paying for a wide range of farm
inputs.
The
Inputs
Price Monitor is live at all times and open to all farmers. The
more who take part each month, the better the data we can generate.
So please
log
on now and play your part. |
The IPM was launched at last month's
Cereals 2009 event, providing an online survey in which farmers
can enter details of their recent input purchases on a strictly
anonymous basis.
Results so far show that, despite the steady rise in oil prices
since the start of the year, with the market now topping $70/barrel
for Brent crude, this has not yet been passed on to farmers at the
pump.
"National average prices for red diesel have been sitting
between 39p/litre and 42p/litre for most of the year and this
month's average of 40.81p/litre is very much in keeping with that,"
said NFU farm inputs
adviser Hannah Moule.
There was only limited regional variation, with the highest red
diesel prices - about 42p/litre - being found in Scotland, Northern
Ireland and Wales and the lowest prices - about 39p/litre -
recorded in the East and West Midlands.
"With the way crude oil prices are going, and the way petrol and
diesel have gone up on garage forecourts, we may well see some
upturn in red diesel prices as the summer progresses, though
farmers would do well to negotiate with their suppliers," said Miss
Moule.
Similar advice is also given in the fertiliser business, with
the IPM results revealing a wider range of prices.
GrowHow and Yara
opened the season at the start of last month with a recommended
retail price for ammonium nitrate of £175/tonne. The actual price
paid by farmers has come out at £177/tonne, suggesting merchants
have been taking some extra margin.
But while there is little regional variation in the results, the
range of price quotes nationally was wide at £170 to £180/tonne,
suggesting there may still be room to negotiate.
There was also a significant price gap between those buying less
than 20t of fertiliser and those buying larger volumes.
"There was a very good entry for UK AN, suggesting that
GrowHow's lower starting price has stimulated buying," said Miss
Moule.
The IPM results also give a good idea of how much farmers are
paying for electricity - one of the hardest things to monitor due
to lack of transparency.
The overall average price for peak usage was 10.82p/kWh. But the
ranges were huge. For example, in East Anglia the lowest peak price
reported was 7.32p/kWh and the highest was 21.13, averaging
13.03p/kWh. The averages regionally varied between 9.2p/kWh in the
South East and 13.32p/kWh in the North West.
The
Inputs
Price Monitor is live at all times and open to all farmers. The
more who take part each month, the better the data we can generate.
So please
log
on now and play your part.
For a comment on this story, see
Phil Clarke's
Business Blog