Figure 1: Australian Harvest & Haulage Cost Index June 2023, Nominal
Sources: ABS, AIP, Margules Groome
Margules Groome’s quarterly harvest and haulage cost index for Australian plantation operations is based on price indexation mechanisms used by industry, weighted by volume harvested (Figure 1). The previous index for March 2022 showed a rapid decrease in fuel price in the first half of 2023 which despite increases in inflation (CPI), wages and interest rates saw the harvest and haulage cost indices begin to trend downwards.
Unfortunately, due to the deterioration in the value of the AUD, fuel prices have increased in the September quarter 2023 which will potentially reverse the decreases in the indices. This comes despite inflation continuing to fall, interest rates being held steady, wage increases slowing, capacity constraints on the supply side continuing to lessen, and economies adjusting to the energy shock caused by the Russia-Ukraine war. We may not be quite out of the woods yet.
For further information and analysis contact Margules Groome.