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Accredited official statistics

Latest agricultural price indices

The Agricultural Price Index (API) is a set of indices of the prices paid and received by UK farmers for agricultural goods and services.

Accredited official statistics

Documents

API - Index of the prices of agricultural outputs and inputs – historical time series January 1988 to March 2018 (based on 2010 =100)

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API - Index of the prices of agricultural outputs and inputs – historical time series 2003 to 2012 (based on 2005 =100)

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API - Index of the prices of agricultural outputs and inputs – historical time series 1988 to 2008 (based on 2000 =100)

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If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need a version of this document in a more accessible format, please email defra.helpline@defra.gov.uk. Please tell us what format you need. It will help us if you say what assistive technology you use.

Details

The Agricultural Price Index (API) is a monthly publication that measures the price changes in agricultural outputs and inputs for the UK. The output series reflects the price farmers receive for their products (referred to as the farm-gate price). Information is collected for all major crops (for example wheat and potatoes) and on livestock and livestock products (for example sheep, milk and eggs). The input series reflects the price farmers pay for goods and services. This is split into two groups: goods and services currently consumed; and goods and services contributing to investment. Goods and services currently consumed refer to items that are used up in the production process, for example fertiliser, or seed. Goods and services contributing to investment relate to items that are required but not consumed in the production process, such as tractors or buildings.

A price index is a way of measuring relative price changes compared to a reference point or base year which is given a value of 100. The year used as the base year needs to be updated over time to reflect changing market trends. The latest data are presented with a base year of 2020 = 100. To maintain continuity with the current API time series, the UK continues to use standardised methodology adopted across the EU. Details of this internationally recognised methodology are described in the Handbook for EU agricultural price statistics.
Please note: The historical time series with base years 2000 = 100, 2005 = 100, 2010 = 100 and 2015 = 100 are not updated monthly and presented for archive purposes only. Each file gives the date the series was last updated.

For those commodities where farm-gate prices are currently unavailable we use the best proxy data that are available (for example wholesale prices). Similarly, calculations are based on UK prices where possible but sometimes we cannot obtain these. In such cases prices for Great Britain, England and Wales or England are used instead.

Next update: see the statistics release calendar.

User Engagement

As part of our ongoing commitment to compliance with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics we wish to strengthen our engagement with users of Agricultural Price Indices (API) data and better understand how data from this release is used. Consequently, we invite you to register as a user of the API data, so that we can retain your details and inform you of any new releases and provide you with the opportunity to take part in any user engagement activities that we may run.

Contact

Agricultural Accounts and Market Prices Team

Email: prices@defra.gov.uk

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