Canada's FPPI Continues Downtrend

OTTAWA - Apr 26/04 - SNS -- Though increasing from January, Canada's Farm Product Price Index (FPPI) continued its downward trend in February, falling 14.3% below its year earlier level, according to the latest data developed by Statistics Canada.

The crop index was down 20.8% from its February 2003 level of 112.8, continuing the monthly year-over-year decreases that began last July. The livestock and animal products index was 9.2% below year-earlier levels, marking the ninth consecutive year-over-year decrease. The only indexes that recorded increases compared with February 2003, were the hog index and the supply-managed sectors: dairy, poultry and eggs.

The FPPI (1997=100) stood at 95.4 in February, up 1.3% from January. The total index had peaked in February 2003 at 111.3, and then slid to the recent low of 92.4 in September.

The livestock and animal products index rose to 99.9 in February 2004, a 2.7% increase from January. Monthly increases were recorded in the hog index (+18.2%) and the dairy index (+7.9%). The index for eggs was unchanged, poultry was down 0.1% and cattle and calves fell 6.2%.

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