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Rabobank: overall input costs meat rising
Although feed prices seem to be stable - or even
declining - farmers still face high energy and water bills according to Albert
Vernooij, meat sector analyst at Rabobank in the
Netherlands.
"Wheat prices nearly doubled in 2007 but prices have pulled back
substantially due to large harvest prospects this year, with feed wheat
especially in plentiful supply. Maize and feed barley markets are also easing"
Vernooij said.
Jorge de Saja, secretary general of Spain's feed makers association CESFAC
said plunging wheat prices and expectations of abundant low quality wheat in
Britain and elsewhere could reduce costs for the feed industry. He said this
would likely lead to an easing in feed prices, though only by a limited amount
due to other costs such as energy and packaging. French animal feed body SNIA
also pointed to the high cost of ingredients such as soy meal in a report.
Robert Newbery, poultry adviser at Britain's National Farmers' Union (NFU)
said: "Other significant costs like energy and even inputs like water are
getting more and more expensive so overall the input costs are on the rise for
poultry producers." While poultry, with a shorter lifecycle, responds more
quickly to changes in production costs, there is less of a correlation for other
meats such as pork and beef. "It takes a while before the supply in animals
changes due to costs such as feed prices," said Rabobank's Vernooij.
"For poultry, we could see an effect starting in three to six months, for
pork it should take more than a year and in beef you have not seen a real
reaction in prices to feeds costs, because that cycle takes two to three
years."
Related link:
Editor WorldPoultry
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