Higher meat and farm-gate milk prices push up producer prices

Producer prices rose in the September 2015 quarter, influenced by higher meat and farm-gate milk prices, and a weaker New Zealand dollar, Statistics New Zealand said today. Prices received (as measured by the output producers price index (PPI)) and paid (as measured by the input PPI), both rose in the September 2015 quarter, up 1.3 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively.

"Prices were up 10 percent for sheep, beef, and grain farmers," prices manager Chris Pike said. "This meant meat product manufacturers had an 8.0 percent rise in their input prices. The prices they received rose 5.5 percent, due to higher meat export prices on the back of a weaker New Zealand dollar.''

In the September 2015 quarter, higher farm-gate milk prices led to higher prices received by dairy cattle farmers (up 8.9 percent) and paid by dairy product manufacturers (up 6.3 percent).

Prices for purchasing capital goods, measured by the capital goods price index (CGPI), rose 1.4 percent. Higher prices for plant, machinery, and equipment (up 2.4 percent) were influenced by the weaker New Zealand dollar.

In the year to the September 2015 quarter, the output PPI was up 0.2 percent, and the input PPI was down 0.2 percent. The CGPI rose 3.6 percent.