It’s electrifying
Leading the AF Ag-deflation index is electricity which has reduced by 58% since September 2022. The market appears to be seeing sense and ultra-high prices of last winter have rationalised. AF Head of Fuels and Energy Management Barry Crossan gives the following analysis:
“The run-up to winter can be an uncertain time for the electricity market, and as we’ve seen on several occasions over the past few years this can lead to significant volatility. Recent market movements have reminded us that you can’t take your eye off the cost of power on the wholesale market.
This is still the single biggest component of the unit rates you pay for electricity. The price of gas and carbon always directly affect wholesale power price but more so recently the geo-political climate and weather forecasts have influenced the wholesale power price. With continued uncertainty in the Middle East we must prepare for price fluctuations throughout winter.”
Fertiliser: freefall but now set to rise again?
Another significant reduction in price has been seen in fertiliser, given the unprecedented market increases in 2022. AF Fertiliser Procurement Manager Josh Joachim commented:
“Fertiliser prices have taken a nosedive from the dizzy heights of 2022, with all major products coming back between 40-50% 12 months on. The most notable decreases seen have been in phosphates with TSP dropping around £500/t from August 2022, and DAP dropping £600/t 12 months on. Whilst it’s been a better year for our Members in terms of price per tonne, we are now witnessing some upturn and nervousness going into Q4 ’23 and Q1 ’24.
The armed conflict between Israel and Hamas has implications for P & K prices, as Israel is a major exporter of these commodities. In the same breath, natural gas prices are on the rise (currently double what they were back in June) as we move into our winter period of requiring more energy for heating. AF have offers available for Q4 and Q1 delivery on some products so, now cropping plans are becoming clearer, it might be worth locking in some product as ’24.”
We’re pleased that 72% of Members who buy from AF have already ordered fertiliser for next season, with P & K orders up 22% versus 2022.”
Fuel focus
Overall, fuel has dropped in price by 15% compared with the previous year, but if the summer low prices had held into autumn this price drop would have been greater. AF Fuel Procurement Manager Helen Thurtle gives her assessment of the market, and a look ahead to what we might expect as we head into winter:
“Fuel prices were at their lowest in June of this year having seen a 40% decrease since the beginning of 2023.
Global supply continues to be an influencing factor in fuel price volatility and recent events in Israel and Palestine have added to this uncertainty. To counter this Russian oil exports increased in September, but Europe still struggles to replace Russian diesel supplies since the price cap was introduced in September 2022. A cut in sanctions will increase Venezuelan oil production introducing much needed oil back into the supply chain. Concerns remain over Iranian production slowing due to current conflict in Gaza, which means OPEC are considering an increase in production for early 2024.”
Animal feed
The price of livestock feed is obviously closely aligned to the wheat price. So, no surprise that there has been 13.1% deflation in the last year. Livestock Feed and Equipment Specialist, Alastair Nottage, offers the following analysis:
“We’ve seen wheat price settle after the initial Ukraine/Russia disruption, which has led to a general decrease in feed prices. Combined with reducing demand from poultry and pig growers, due to bird flu and reduced demand respectively, and some farmers still hanging on to 2022 crop, you can understand why the price has been falling.
The million-dollar question is ‘what happens now?’, and there is nobody who can give an answer! We can see the price of feed creeping up now. Talk is that wheat may get back to £230 – 240/tonne, and soya has jumped £50 – 60 in the last few weeks.
Some respected traders are counselling against contracts at the moment, advising the spot market is offering less risk.
You can understand why when you see the projected reduction in US corn plantings issued by the USDA, predicting a 25 million bushel reduction in exports.”
Higher costs of crop protection
There has been 9.6% cost inflation across the portfolio, still reflecting the increase in oil and energy prices and the knock-on to production costs, but its important to say this is not the case for all products. AF Crop Protection Procurement Manager Aleksija Curcic advises:
“It’s worth noting that the largest price increases contributing to this percentage were the spring fungicides, potato products, and sugar beet products. We have analysed the key autumn products and we have only seen a 2% price increase on these, with prices remaining fairly stable.”
Cumulative effect
Many AF Members are in contracts to supply food processors, manufacturers and retailers and use the two year AF Aginflation Index, annual and cumulative, in their negotiations.
For that we can share that the figure for the two-year Aginflation Index is an average 29.45%. But AF analysis shows the reality of rising costs by enterprise is cereals 38.02%, sugar beet 36.77%, potatoes 33.56%, beef and lamb 29.56% and dairy 27.54%.
