Dear colleagues,
We are pleased to attach the latest AP Weekly Price Monitor (10 August) that reports price information from July and the first week of August. This, and previous issues can be downloaded from http://www.foodsecuritylink.net/ To subscribe, please send us an email to AP-Weekly-Price-Monitor@fao.org or see the instructions below.
From August 2012, AP Weekly Price Monitor team has adjusted the criteria to flag unusual price movements:
- On a weekly basis, nominal price variations below 5 percent are considered “stable”
- On a monthly basis, nominal price variations below 10 percent are considered “stable”
- On an annual basis, nominal price variations below 25 percent are considered “stable”
These modifications are also reflected in the price and policy section, as well as the monthly highlights.
Over the past week, staple food commodity prices remained relatively stable in most countries except for the following:
- Wheat prices in Afghanistan, India and Myanmar increased by 5, 7 and 6 percent respectively.
- Chicken prices in Bangladesh were 12 and 10 percent above the levels observed a month and three months ago, respectively.
- In Bhutan, rice prices fell by 9 percent from the third to the fourth week of July and were 2 percent below the levels registered a year earlier.
- In Lao PDR, glutinous rice prices fell by 12 percent and were 30 percent below the levels observed a month and a year ago. Pork prices dropped by 6 percent and were 13 percent below those observed a month ago.
- Finally, in Samoa, taro palagi prices increased by 31 percent from June to July. Taro palagi prices were 82 and 48 percent above the levels observed a year and three years ago, respectively.
Under national policy highlights, Lao PDR is on track to complete its WTO accession negotiations after this year’s summer break, and the country’s membership in the Geneva-based trade body is expected to be formalised before 2012. In Myanmar, a new radio programme funded by the Livelihoods and Food Security Trust Fund (LIFT) has been broadcasting local market prices of crops, from sesame and maize to peas and groundnuts, twice a day since March. In addition, there is another complementary initiative to train farmers to analyse the information they hear so they can make better decisions.
Regarding weather conditions, typhoons Saola, Damrey and more recently Haikui have brought the heaviest rains to northern and southern provinces along China’s eastern coast since the beginning of August. Typhoon Haikui has affected more than 4.03 million people and caused economic losses of more than CYN 10 billion (USD 1.57 billion), and damaged about 184,800 hectares of cropland. Similarly, a tropical Storm Saola (Gener) turned into a typhoon on 30 Jul 2012. It did not strike the Philippines directly, but brought several days of heavy continuous rains to large parts of the country. Latest figures from the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council reveal that the cost of damages in agriculture is at PHP 847 million (USD 20.2): rice crops at PHP 234 million (USD 5.6); high-value commercial crops at PHP 12 million (USD 286,000); and fisheries, PHP 601 million (USD 14.3 million) among others (Government of the Philippines, 12 August 2012).
With best regards,
AP Weekly Price Monitor
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