Written Answers. - Consumer Price Index. – Dáil Éireann (29th Dáil) – Tuesday, 10 Jun 2003

Written Answers. - Consumer Price Index.

Richard Bruton

Question:

187 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Taoiseach the items priced in respect of food products in making up the consumer price index; the price in euro of each item involved in the most recently published index; and the corresponding price 12 months earlier. [15323/03]

Richard Bruton

Question:

188 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Taoiseach the food items priced in respect of the agricultural prices index and the wholesale price index; the price in euro of each item involved in the most recently published index; and the corresponding price 12 months earlier. [15324/03]

Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach (Ms Hanafin)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 187 and 188 together.

The Central Statistics Office uses three separate sets of indices to monitor the trends in food prices. Each source of data is designed to measure a specific stage of the whole production process from farm through factory gate and on to the final consumer. The agricultural output price index monitors trends in prices paid to farmers for their produce. Monthly and annual indices are produced for the main livestock categories and agricultural products. The CSO publishes absolute monthly prices for selected products only. The wholesale price index, WPI, is designed to measure, in index form, the monthly changes in prices received by Irish manufacturers for goods fully or partially produced in Ireland and sold to home or export markets. Some 41% of the food products produced in Ireland are sold to the home market, while the remaining 59% are destined for the export market. Monthly and annual indices are published for ten aggregated food categories. National average prices are not compiled within the wholesale price index.

The consumer price index, CPI, is designed to measure, in index form, the monthly changes in the cost of purchasing a fixed representative basket of consumer goods and services by all private households in the country and by tourists on holiday within the territory of Ireland. Monthly and annual indices are published for 46 aggregated food categories. National average prices are compiled for 50 individual food items. The available absolute prices for agricultural products and food products purchased by the consumer are given in tables 1 and 2. In addition, index numbers for the three series are given in tables 3,4 and 5.

Table 1. Agriculture Monthly Absolute Prices for March 2002 and March 2003

Product	Unit	March-02	March-03
Bullocks – 200-249kg liveweight (including VAT)	(€ per 100 kg)	208.25	200.10
Bullocks – 250-299kg liveweight (including VAT)	(€ per 100 kg)	188.19	174.79
Bullocks – 300-349kg liveweight (including VAT)	(€ per 100 kg)	176.99	163.35
Bullocks – 350-399kg liveweight (including VAT)	(€ per 100 kg)	169.83	160.48
Bullocks – 400-449kg liveweight (including VAT)	(€ per 100 kg)	165.82	158.51
Bullocks – 450-499kg liveweight (including VAT)	(€ per 100 kg)	159.53	149.11
Bullocks – 500-549kg liveweight (including VAT)	(€ per 100 kg)	152.09	143.11
Bullocks – 550kg+ liveweight (including VAT)	(€ per 100 kg)	142.04	139.21
Heifers – 200-249kg liveweight (including VAT)	(€ per 100 kg)	151.35	137.59
Heifers – 250-299kg liveweight (including VAT)	(€ per 100 kg)	150.69	136.34
Heifers – 300-349kg liveweight (including VAT)	(€ per 100 kg)	151.85	136.09
Heifers – 350-399kg liveweight (including VAT)	(€ per 100 kg)	150.69	136.34
Heifers – 400-499kg liveweight (including VAT)	(€ per 100 kg)	145.13	134.09
Sheep – 30-39kg liveweight (including VAT)	(€ per kg)	2.20	1.58
Sheep – 40-49kg liveweight (including VAT)	(€ per kg)	2.00	1.79
Sheep – 50-59kg liveweight (including VAT)	(€ per kg)	1.95	1.75
Milk, Actual Butterfat (including VAT)	(€ per litre)	0.27	0.27
Milk, 3.7% Butterfat (including VAT)	(€ per litre)	0.27	0.27
Hens' Eggs (including VAT)	(€ per 120)	6.61	6.23

Table 2. National Average Prices for Food Items March 2002 and March 2003 (Source CPI)

Food	Unit	March-02	March-03
		€	€
Beef
Round Steak	1KG	8.791	8.876
Sirloin Steak	1KG	12.524	12.743
Striploin Steak	1KG	16.998	17.762
Roast Beef – Topside/Rib	1KG	8.495	8.509
Sliced/Diced Beef Pieces	1KG	7.244	7.415

Lamb
Whole leg	1KG	10.332	9.449
Loin chops	1KG	17.382	15.810
Gigot chops	1KG	10.666	9.303
Lamb Pieces incl. Neck	1KG	6.581	6.286
Liver	1KG	5.259	5.392

Pork
Fillet/Half Leg	1KG	6.729	6.577
Roast Loin	1KG	8.627	9.119
Loin chops	1KG	8.654	9.010
Steak	1KG	11.740	11.804

Food	Unit	March-02	March-03
		€	€
Bacon
Best back rashers	1KG	9.778	10.815
Ham fillet	1KG	8.684	9.073
Collar	1KG	5.869	5.896

Other Meat
Cooked ham	1KG	13.105	14.383
Pork sausages	1KG	4.498	4.812

Fresh Fish
Fillets of whiting	1KG	7.92	8.894
Cod fillets	1KG	13.675	13.327
Salmon Steak	1KG	11.761	12.291
Fillets of plaice	1KG	14.724	16.684

Smoked Fish
Smoked Salmon	1KG	19.289	23.073

Fresh Vegetables
Potatoes	2.5KG	3.033	3.246
Potatoes	10KG	5.817	6.926
Tomatoes	1KG	3.495	2.606
Onions	1KG	1.295	1.315
Broccoli	1KG	3.451	3.420
Carrots	1KG	1.245	1.363
Mushrooms	1KG	3.954	4.099

Fresh Fruit
Grapes	1KG	4.260	4.178
Bananas	1KG	1.496	1.489

Milk
Fresh, pasteurised full fat	1 Ltr.	0.844	0.856
Fresh, pasteurised low fat	1 Ltr.	0.848	0.857

Cheese
Irish cheddar	1KG	8.792	9.003

Butter	1 lb.	1.958	1.952

Eggs
Large (grade 2)	Dozen	2.397	2.446
Standard (grade 3)	Dozen	2.088	2.121

Bread
White, sliced (large)	800g	1.005	1.084
Brown, sliced (large)	800g	1.111	1.189

Flour
White, plain	2KG	1.244	1.267
White, self-raising	2KG	1.257	1.272
Brown, wholemeal	2KG	1.305	1.303

Sugar
White Granulated	1KG	1.106	1.113

Tea
Bags	80	2.423	2.540

Spaghetti	500g	0.931	0.966

Preserves
Jam	1 lb.	1.516	1.565
Marmalade	1 lb.	1.453	1.564

Orange Juice	1 Litre	1.493	1.558

Table 3. Agricultural Output Price Index¹

Period	2002March	2003March	March 03-March 02	Weights
Total outputs index	93.6	90.4	-3.5%	100
Livestock
Finished cattle	84.1	77.8	-7.4%	25.0099
Cows for slaughter	67.5	65.6	-2.8%	4.8558
Store cattle	95.6	88.9	-7.1%	4.9973
Total cattle	83.4	77.8	-6.7%	35.4025

Sheep

150.8138.6-8.1%5.7209Pigs

90.686.7-4.3%7.053Poultry

91.492.91.7%3.171Total

92.486.7-6.1%51.3474Livestock ProductsMilk

94.692.7-2.0%35.4182Total

94.392.5-1.9%36.2485Livestock and Livestock products

93.289.1-4.3%87.5959Crop ProductsCereals

79.870.5-11.7%4.2628Sugarbeet

102.2103.20.9%1.9577Potatoes

79.0122.354.9%1.8529Vegetables

121.7118.7-2.4%3.9873Total

96.899.32.6%12.4042¹Excluding VAT

Table 4. Food Products – Wholesale Price Indices April 2003

	Weights %				April 2003 Index				Monthly % Change				Annual % Change
Sector	H¹	E²	%WithinFoodProd-ucts	H	E	T³	H	E	T	H	E	T
Meat and meat products	51	49	24	103.1	96.5	99.7	+0.6	+0.3	+0.4	-5.0	-4.2	-4.7
Fish and Fish Products	n/a4	n/a	2	n/a	n/a	105.5	n/a	n/a	-4.4	n/a	n/a	-11.9
Fruit and vegetables	n/a	n/a	1	n/a	n/a	121.7	n/a	n/a	+1.8	n/a	n/a	+11.1
Dairy Products	66	34	22	100.7	87.9	95.5	+0.7	-4.4	-0.9	+0.9	-12.0	-2.9
Grain milling, starches and animal feed	87	13	7	105.0	95.4	103.9	+0.1	-0.3	+0.1	-0.6	-6.7	-1.2
Other food products	16	84	44	107.5	98.7	100.2	+0.1	+0.1	-	+2.2	-10.8	-8.6
Food Products	41	59	100	104.1	96.2	99.5	+0.6	-0.6	-0.1	-0.9	-8.7	-5.4

¹H = Home sales

²E = Export Sales

³T = Total Sales

4Data not available due to confidentiality requirements

Table 5. Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages Consumer Price Indices April 2003

Description	Dec. 2001 base expenditure weight %	Current Index	% change 1 mth	% change 12 mths
Food	12.7541	103.0	0.0	2.1
Bread and Cereals	2.4351	104.4	0.1	3.6
Bread	0.7932	105.3	-0.4	2.8
Flour	0.0349	101.5	0.1	0.8
Biscuits	0.4149	107.4	1.8	6.3
Cakes	0.4370	106.3	-0.8	6.7
Breakfast cereals	0.3592	100.9	-0.2	1.8
Other cereals	0.1698	102.4	0.5	3.1
Other bread & cereals	0.2263	99.9	0.7	-0.6

Meat	3.8238	100.2	-0.1	-0.1
Beef	0.7427	103.0	0.1	1.5
Lamb	0.3222	96.2	2.0	-6.7
Pork	0.2327	101.2	0.5	0.3
Bacon	0.5459	98.3	-0.9	-0.6
Poultry	0.7558	96.4	-1.2	-2.7
Other meat products	1.2245	102.7	0.4	2.6

Fish	0.3475	104.0	-0.5	1.6
Fresh fish	0.1522	105.1	-1.4	2.7
Frozen/tinned/smoked fish	0.1954	103.2	0.4	0.8

Milk, cheese and eggs	1.7813	101.8	-0.3	1.8
Milk	0.9658	100.7	-0.7	0.2
Other milk products	0.3633	103.2	-1.7	3.9
Cheese	0.3103	104.2	3.1	4.9
Eggs	0.1419	101.1	0.5	0.6

Oils and fats	0.3720	103.1	-0.6	4.0
Butter	0.2294	102.7	-1.0	3.8
Margarine & low fat spreads	0.0706	103.8	-0.8	4.6
Other oils & fats	0.0720	103.5	0.6	3.7

Fruit	0.6780	100.1	1.4	0.0
Fresh fruit	0.5882	99.2	1.7	-0.6
Other fruits	0.0897	106.2	0.1	4.1

Vegetables	1.6534	105.2	-0.5	0.5
Potatoes	0.3644	108.8	-2.8	2.6
Other fresh vegetables	0.6260	106.2	0.8	-2.6
Tinned vegetables	0.1308	106.7	-0.7	8.4
Frozen vegetables	0.1738	104.5	0.6	1.5
Other vegetable products	0.3584	99.8	-0.4	0.6

Sugar, jam, honey, chocolate and confectionery	1.2890	107.8	0.5	7.3
Sugar & sweeteners	0.0881	99.8	0.2	0.7
Preserves	0.0898	107.1	0.6	6.1
Sweets & chocolate	0.8708	107.8	0.3	8.1
Desserts & icecream	0.2404	110.7	0.6	6.6

Other food products	0.3739	105.2	0.6	5.0
Condiments & sauces	0.1924	105.2	0.4	4.7
Soup	0.1011	105.4	1.0	6.0
Miscellaneous food items	0.0804	104.3	1.2	4.1

Non-alcoholic beverages	1.3380	104.4	0.1	3.8
Coffee, tea and cocoa	0.3108	101.7	-0.3	3.6
Tea	0.2007	104.0	0.1	6.0
Coffee	0.0980	97.0	-1.2	-1.1
Cocoa	0.0120	100.5	-0.1	0.6

Mineral waters, soft drinks & juices	1.0273	105.2	0.2	3.7
Soft drinks, mineral water	0.7641	105.4	-0.1	3.2
Fruit juices	0.2632	104.4	1.0	5.2
Total	14.0921	103.1	0.0	2.2

Note: Data on National Average Prices are always published one month in arrears.

Dáil Éireann debate - Tuesday, 10 Jun 2003