Behavior of historical prices of milk in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

The objective of this study is to analyse tendency behaviour, seasonality and price cycles of real prices paid to milk farmers in Rio Grande do Sul between 1973 and 2007, as well as the evolution of consumer prices and commercialization margins. The study was based on historical price series of nominal monthly milk prices paid to the producer and by consumers in Rio Grande do Sul, obtained through EMATER/RS and IEPE/UFRGS, respectively. The nominal prices were deflated for December 2007 according to the IGP-DI of the FGV. Consumer and farmer Price Indexes, Seasonal Indexes, relative cycles and product commercialization margins were calculated. It was observed that the prices paid to the farmer presented a decreasing tendency throughout the whole historical series. The milk market presented historical cycles generally regular until the beginning of the 1980s, and from 1987 on, a strong tendency toward change in farmer and consumer price indexes. The commercialization margin of milk increased during the period analysed, placing itself between 27% and 69%.