Market Morsel: Go easy on the veggies
Market Morsel
The release of the June quarter 2022 consumer price index provides an opportunity to see how food inflation pressures are impacting upon the shopping trolley. The big mover in price over the March to June quarter has been vegetables, showing a 7.3% increase on the CPI index for this category. Fruit and eggs have shown the second strongest price gains at a 3.7% rise to their indicators.
The strong increases to both vegetable and fruit prices have pushed the combined category of fruit & veg up 5.8% for the June quarter.
Egg producers, like many farmers, have been subject to a swag of increasing input costs in recent times. Egg Farmers of Australia CEO Melinda Hashimoto noted in a March 2022 press release that “the cost of started pullets (young laying hens) had increased 20%, fuel prices jumped 25%, feed grain costs rose by 45%, and the cost of canola oil had climbed 141% per tonne.” so it is probably unsurprising to see the cost of eggs lift. Rumours of an egg shortage in June was dismissed by egg producers, despite retailers commenting that they felt domestic supply was an issue.
Despite high feed costs impacting pig producer margins, the June quarter CPI numbers highlighted a 0.5% decline in the price of pork on a national basis. Perhaps a good excuse to stock up on the bacon and pork chops, just check that they are made from Australian pigs.*
*EP3 analysts have a financial interest in an Australian pig farm, and we’re just kidding about eating less veggies. Support Australian farmers by purchasing as much locally produced items as you can, irrespective of the product type.