food price monitoring and analysis (fpma) tool · •• permalink - a permanent link can be...

FOOD PRICE MONITORING AND ANALYSIS (FPMA) TOOL

USER MANUAL

Global Information and Early Warning System (GIEWS)

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FOOD PRICE MONITORING AND ANALYSIS TOOL

The FPMA Tool 3 is a web-based application for visualization and analysis of price data developed by the Global Information and Early Warning Unit in the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

FAO FPMA Tool 3 User manual(This document refers to version 3.x.x)

CONTENTS

1. HomeScreen 3

2. BrowsingdatainGrid View 4

3. BrowsingdatainMap View 6

4. TheWorking Area 8

TheChartpanel 9

TheLegendpanel 12

TheOptionspanel 13

TheChart Datapanel 14

TheStatisticspanel 15

TheInformationpanel 17

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FOOD PRICE MONITORING AND ANALYSIS TOOL — 1.Homescreen

1. HOME SCREENThe home screen of the FPMA Tool provides information about the data available in the database, such as the number of series in each dataset and the commodity coverage. To start using the tool it is necessary to select one of the datasets available in the side menu.

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2. BROWSING DATA IN GRID VIEWOnce a price dataset has been selected from the side menu the home screen will be replaced by a data grid showing the available series of price data.

It’s possible to scroll down the grid to view all of the available series in the selected dataset, which by default come ordered alphabetically on the values in the first column.

Filters can be multiple and applied to all columns in any order.

To remove a filter cancel it from the list

You can order alphabetically on any of the data grid fields by clicking on the column headers.

HINTTo facilitate the viewing of the working area, especially ifyou have a smaller screen, the side menu can easily be collapsed from its minimize tab.

To facilitate a search for specific data, use the

column head filter boxes. Click inside one of the boxes and pick from the list… orBegin to type what you are looking for and you will find it quicker.

To cancel all filters use the big X on the left.

It is possible to download the list of series displayed in the data grid from the download command in the dropdown menu in the top right corner of the grid view panel.

HINT You can expand the grid to fullscreen from the enlarge arrowson the top right of the data gridpanel.

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FOOD PRICE MONITORING AND ANALYSIS TOOL — 2.BrowsingdatainGrid View

To add multiple series to the working area select the series using the check boxes.

To remove all selected series from the working area click the “Clear All” button in the top right corner of the working area.

When you have found the series you are looking for, simply click on it in the list and a chart with this data will appear in the Working Area. To remove the series, click on it again, or replace it by clicking another series.

NOTEWhen series with different weight units are selected simultaneously the data will automatically be harmonized to kg and when series with different currencies are selected simultaneously it will automatically be harmonized to US dollars.

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3. BROWSING DATA IN MAP VIEWMap View is an alternative to Grid View for browsing the data inside the Tool.

In Map View it is possible to see the geographic locations where data is available.

NOTEThe MapView will always reflect the filters that have been applied to the data grid. i.e. the map will show exactly the countries/markets/series that are listed in the data grid at any moment.

HintYou can expand the map to full screen from the enlarge arrows on the top right of the map panel.

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FOOD PRICE MONITORING AND ANALYSIS TOOL — 3.BrowsingdatainMap View

To remove all selected series from the working area click the “Clear All” button in the top right corner of the working area.

NOTEWhen series with different weight units are selected simultaneously the data will automatically be harmonized to kg and when series with different currencies are selected simultaneously it will automatically be harmonized to US dollars.

Clicking on a marker on the map will open a popup dialog with a list of the series available at that location.

Click a series in the dialog list and a chart with this data will appear in the working area.

To remove the series, click on it again, or replace it by clicking another series.

To add multiple series to the working area select the series using the check boxes.

Whenever a price series is selected (from map view or grid view), the marker on the map for the corresponding market will change colour to green and the border of the corresponding country will be highlighted.

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4. THE WORKING AREAWhen one or more series are selected in Grid View or Map View, these series are added to the Working Area.

HintYou can expand the working area to full screen from the enlarge arrows on the top right of the working area panel.

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FOOD PRICE MONITORING AND ANALYSIS TOOL — 4.TheWorking Area

THE CHART PANEL

The chart is dynamic and the period of data to display can be adjusted using the shortcut buttons, the slider below the chart or by selecting a section of the chart directly with the mouse.

Hovering the mouse over the chart, while the options panel is in the foreground, will display information about the corresponding data points in a popup window.

By default, the chart will show the full series of data available for the selected series.

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Hovering the mouse over the chart, while the legend panel is in the foreground, will display information about the corresponding data points in the corresponding legend items.

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In the top right corner of the chart panel, there is a dropdown menu giving access to features related to the active chart.

•• download•chart – a PNG image will be generated of the current chart.

•• widget•chart – a dialog will open allowing the generation of an embeddable HTML widget of the current chart. Some aspects of the widget such as size and legend content can be customized from the widget builder dialog and it is possible to see a preview of the widget that will be reproduced using the script provided.

a document, or (iii) shared (e.g. by email).

•• permalink - a permanent link can be generated for the current selected price series. Such a link can be:

(i) saved as a bookmark, permitting quick return to regularly used analysis; (ii) used as a hyperlink to create a direct link to a particular chart from a web page or inside

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Hovering the mouse over an item in the Legend panel will highlight the corresponding series on the chart. This is


THE LEGEND PANEL

The legend panel can be collapsed by clicking on the dark rectangle of the division between the chart and the option/legend panels.

Price series can be removed from the working•area individually by clicking the “x” on the corresponding legend item.

To facilitate identification and geographic localization of markets, when hovering the mouse over items in the legend panel the corresponding market marker in map•view will change colour to highlight its location.

useful to facilitate the focus on a particular series while analysing multiple series.

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Periodicity By default the shortest periodicity available is loaded when a price series is selected or the shortest common periodicity if more than one series is selected. These buttons will activate according to the available periodicities for the series selected and it is possible to switch between available periodicities by clicking on the buttons.

NOTEThe Market Season/Year-on-Year and Price Trend/Volatility options are only available while viewing a single price series.

The Options panel gives access to several useful analysis features available in the Tool.

THE OPTIONS PANEL


Currency By default prices are displayed in nominal terms. By selecting real, for every series on the chart, an additional series in real terms, deflated by general CPI will be added to the chart.

Measure If data is displayed in in local measure units, it can be converted to either kg or tonnes by using the kg or tonnes options. (Note: This feature only applies to units of weight.)

Type of chart By default a normal times series chart is displayed. The “Market Season/Year-on-Year” option allows visualization of the data divided into 12-month segments to facilitate analysis of seasonal behaviour in series.

The “Price Trend/Volatility” shows a chart of volatility (measured as the standard deviation over 12 months) and a trend (measured as the 12 month moving average).

By selecting US dollar, for every series on the chart, an additional series in US dollar terms, will be added to the chart.It is possible to view all three currency options simultaneously or individually.

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It is possible to visualize and download the data for any chart on the Chart Data panel.

THE CHART DATA PANEL

By default the most recent value will appear at the top of the table but it is possible to invert the data order or sort on any of the other columns by clicking the respective column header.

It is possible to download data table is available in the dropdown menu in the top right corner of the Chart Data panel.

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It is possible to change the period of analysis directly from the calendar controls on the statistics panel.

Two sets of statistics are provided in the Statistics panel:

Statistics for selected time period These statistics refer to the selected time period. Whenever the period of data displayed on the chart is changed, these statistics will update to reflect the new period of analysis.

The statistics provided in this analysis include:

• Start date of the period of analysis

• End data of the period of analysis

• Number of non-Null data points in the period of analysis

• Average of all non-Null data points over the period of analysis

• Standard deviation of all non-Null data points over the period of analysis

• Minimum price observed during the period and the corresponding date

THE STATISTICS PANEL

• Maximum price observed during the period and the corresponding date

• The range of values from min to max over the period of analysis It is possible to download this set

of statistics from the download command in the dropdown menu in the top right corner of the Statistics panel.

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Percent changes from selected end date This set of statistics provides some pre-set percentage changes in respect to the most recent value in the selected period. Whenever the end date of the period of data displayed on the chart is changed, these statistics will update to reflect the new end date.The statistics provided in this analysis vary depend on the periodicity of the series being analysed. For data with monthly periodicity the following statistics are provided:

• Latest available value and corresponding date

• Value one month earlier

• Percent change from previous month

• Percent same month-on-month percent change over the past 5 years (more years can be selected if available)

• Value in the same month a year earlier

• Percent change from a year earlier

• Percent change from n months earlier where n can be selected by the user.

It is possible to change the end date directly from the calendar controls on the statistics panel.

HintWhen working with a multiple selection of price series it is possible to sort the statistics table by any of provided statistics by clicking on the header of the corresponding column.

It is possible to download this set of statistics from the download command in the dropdown menu in the top right corner of the statistics panel.

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The information panel provides information relating to the market, commodity and source of the selected price series.

THE INFORMATION PANEL


It is possible to download this information from the download command in the dropdown menu in the top right corner of the statistics panel.

food price monitoring and analysis (fpma) tool · •• permalink - a permanent link can be...

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