The world price of refined sugar is also calculated using data from the New York Board of Trade (USDA ERS 2016a). Up until 2005–06 this price is the annual average of monthly prices for the no. 407 contract, London spot price, free on board Europe. From 2006–07 the price is the annual average of monthly futures prices for this contract. All price series data have been adjusted for inflation using the ABS Consumer Price Index (cat. no. 6401.0) to allow an analysis of trends in real prices. The price series created from these data sources provide a useful indication of price trends. However, there are some limitations: Annual price series data are aggregated from either monthly or quarterly data, which may result in some loss of information and variation. Data may not have been collected with the intention of creating a time series. For example, the specification and quality of items may have changed over time (ABS 2011a). Nonetheless, the general trends in the data should remain valid. The price of 1-kilogram of retail sugar is assumed to be exactly half of the 2-kilogram price reported by the ABS. While this may mean that prices in the retail series are lower than the actual cost of a 1-kilogram pack of sugar because of additional costs in packaging and handling 1-kilogram packs, the trend in the data should still be valid. The ABS CPI ‘Other food’ subgroup used to extrapolate retail prices after 2010–11 is not specific to sugar. While this subcategory includes sugar, it also includes eggs, spreads, food additives and condiments, oils and fats, snacks and confectionery and a sub-category referred to as other food products not elsewhere classified (ABS 2011b). While some of these other foods are likely to have a high sugar content, others are likely to contain little or no added sugar. Farmgate and export prices are approximated by unit values. Again, while this may mean that absolute prices are not completely accurate, trends in the data series should be valid.
The world price of refined sugar is also calculated using data from the New York Board of Trade (USDA ERS 2016a). Up until 2005–06 this price is the annual average of monthly prices for the no. 407 contract, London spot price, free on board Europe. From 2006–07 the price is the annual average of monthly futures prices for this contract. All price series data have been adjusted for inflation using the ABS Consumer Price Index (cat. no. 6401.0) to allow an analysis of trends in real prices. The price series created from these data sources provide a useful indication of price trends. However, there are some limitations: Annual price series data are aggregated from either monthly or quarterly data, which may result in some loss of information and variation. Data may not have been collected with the intention of creating a time series. For example, the specification and quality of items may have changed over time (ABS 2011a). Nonetheless, the general trends in the data should remain valid. The price of 1-kilogram of retail sugar is assumed to be exactly half of the 2-kilogram price reported by the ABS. While this may mean that prices in the retail series are lower than the actual cost of a 1-kilogram pack of sugar because of additional costs in packaging and handling 1-kilogram packs, the trend in the data should still be valid. The ABS CPI ‘Other food’ subgroup used to extrapolate retail prices after 2010–11 is not specific to sugar. While this subcategory includes sugar, it also includes eggs, spreads, food additives and condiments, oils and fats, snacks and confectionery and a sub-category referred to as other food products not elsewhere classified (ABS 2011b). While some of these other foods are likely to have a high sugar content, others are likely to contain little or no added sugar. Farmgate and export prices are approximated by unit values. Again, while this may mean that absolute prices are not completely accurate, trends in the data series should be valid.
SugarPriceSpreadIndustryReport_V1.0.0.docx