Domestic milk intake in January was down by over 22% when compared with the same month in the previous year, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) said.
Data published today (Wednesday, March 6) shows that milk processors and co-ops took in an estimated at 140.1 million litres in January 2024.
This is a decrease of 40.4 million litres (-22.4%) on the January 2023 figure and down 43.2 million litres (-23.6%) when compared with same month in 2022.
Fat content for January 2024 was 4.50%, unchanged from January 2023. Protein content fell from 3.5% to 3.48% in the twelve months to January 2024.
CSO
In 2023, domestic milk intake was estimated at almost 8.5 billion litres, a decline of 366.3 million litres (-4.2%) when compared with 2022.
Last year’s figure was also down by 299.9 million litres (-3.4%) when compared with 2021.
Milk sold for human consumption was estimated at 38 million litres in January 2024, down 2.4 million litres (-6%) when compared with the same month in the previous year.
Whole milk sales stood at 22.9 million litres (24.8 million in January 2023), while skimmed and semi-skimmed milk was 15.1 million litres (15.6 million in January 2023).
There was no data given for butter or skimmed milk powder (SMP) production in January.
GDT
Meanwhile, the Global Dairy Trade (GDT) Index recorded its first decrease since November 7, following the latest trading event yesterday (Tuesday, March 5).
Following a ‘no-change’ result on November 21, the index – which is updated every two weeks after each auction – had seen six consecutive increases before today, the highest of which was a 4.2% increase on February 6.
After yesterday’s event, the GDT index has decreased by 2.3%, with the index figure now at 1,086.
This figure is notably higher than August 2023, when the index fell to 850, its lowest figure since November 2018.
However, it’s even further off the heady heights the index reached in March 2022, when it hit 1,593, the highest figure in at least the last 10 years.