The agriculture operating surplus for 2020 shows an annual increase of €337.9 million, or 11.6%, according to the final estimate for last year from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
This is an increase from around €2.9 billion in 2019 to roughly €3.3 billion in 2020.
The CSO says that this increase is in line with the trends shown by other short-term indicators in agriculture used by the statistics agency.
The value of agricultural outputs at basic prices rose by €391.8 million (a 4.6% increase), with cattle and pigs accounting for €146.6 million and €58.9 million, respectively, of this growth.
Despite the value of cereals contracting substantially, the overall value of crops increased slightly by €49.3 million (a 2.6% increase).
Intermediate consumption (corresponding to input costs) rose marginally by just under €17.6 million (0.3%).
CSO breakdown by sector
The data shows that the value of cattle increased by €146.6 million (6.8%), up to €2.3 billion from €2.1 billion compared to 2019, due to the combination of higher prices and a 1.4% rise in output volumes.
A 6.9% expansion in volume combined with price increases resulted in the value of pig production growing by around €58.9 million (10.8%), from €543 million to €601.9 million.
Sheep production rose in value by some €42.5 million (16.3%), increasing from €260.8 million in 2019 to €303.3 million in 2020. Larger volumes accounted for 4.9% of this growth.
Milk prices increased in 2020 and, with output expanding by 3.9%, the value of milk production grew by €144.1 million (5.5%), from €2.6 billion to just under €2.8 billion.
The volume of cereal production fell by 16.5% but higher prices helped to offset some of this reduction and, as a result, the value of cereal production contracted by €37.7 million (a decrease of 11.5%).
While overall the volume of crops produced by Irish farmers decreased by 2.7%, stronger prices resulted in the value of crop production increasing by €49.3 million (up 2.6%), from just under €1.9 billion in 2019 to just over the same figure in 2020.
There was just marginal growth in total intermediate consumption costs, which rose by €17.6 million (0.3%).
The volume of feeding stuffs consumed on Irish farms increased by 4%. The full impact of this growth in volume was offset by lower prices resulting in the overall cost of feeding stuffs rising by €35.3 million (3.4%) to €1.5 billion.
While the volume of fertilisers consumed by Irish farmers rose by 1.9% in 2020, lower prices resulted in the cost of these fertilisers decreasing by €46 million (down 8%), from €578.3 million to €532.3 million.
The cost of energy and lubricants fell by €53.8 million (down 12.2%) due to a combination of price decreases and a 4.7% reduction in the volume consumed.
Expenditure on maintenance and repairs increased by €49.3 million (up 10.1%), while expenditure on other goods and services fell by €35.1 million (down 6.3%).