Price volatility of Polish agricultural commodities in the view of the Common Agricultural Policy

Abstract

In the paper, the price volatility was examined. The authors used 650 weekly observations from 2003 to 2015. Such a long period of analysis helped to reveal periods with high volatility. The objective of the paper was to recognize price volatility of agricultural commodities in Poland. The authors chose beef, pork and wheat markets to show the differentiation of price volatility. It revealed periods of large and small volatility. The global market situation impacted Polish agricultural markets with the opening markets and a greater access to the new markets. The periods having the strongest impact on Polish agricultural markets were the integration with the EU, the global crisis in 2008, and problems in the EU zone. The prices of analysed agricultural commodities differed in various EU countries. The prices of wheat increased most in France, Hungary and Lithuania. The prices of store cattle increased most in the years 2004–2015 in Estonia, Sweden and Luxemburg. The prices of pigs increased most in Malta, Sweden and Cyprus.