Farm Retuirns Improving in Canada

OTTAWA - Apr 25/07 - SNS -- Returns from the sale of primary agricultural commodities posted a solid 5.9% advance in February, according to Statistics Canada, boosted by rising crop prices and a slight increase in overall livestock and animal product prices.

Prices for crops were 14.9% higher in February than they were a year earlier, according to the Farm Product Price Index (FPPI), which crawled over 100 in February to reach 100.7, up from the revised January index of 98.1.

This was the sixth consecutive month of year-over-year increases and the fourth consecutive double-digit increase for crops. After slumping to very low levels during the 2005/2006 crop year (August to July), crop prices surged to their highest level since the fall of 2004.

Prices rose 1.0% in February for the overall livestock and animal product index, as gains in hogs, poultry and dairy outweighed decreases recorded in cattle and calves and eggs. Prices for livestock and animal products rose 3.8% in February from the revised January index, as all livestock categories were up. Increases ranged from 1.0% for poultry to 8.3% for hogs.

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