France agriculture costs up 6.2 percent on feed prices

France's farm-production costs increased 6.2 percent in February, spurred by growing expenses for livestock feed, according to the country's Agriculture Ministry. The cost of agricultural inputs has grown 6.5 percent in the first two months of 2013.
Animal feed costs have increased 20 percent year-on-year, according to the Ministry, and seed costs have gone up 4.2 percent. Costs for livestock breeders who keep pigs, cattle and poultry indoors went up 17 percent, while those who graze their animals saw expenses climb 6.4 percent. Farmers of commodity crops saw costs go up 2.2 percent in February from 2012 numbers, said the Ministry.