Domestic milk intake by creameries and pasteurisers was estimated at 770.4 million litres in September 2023, according to new data.
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) said that this represents a decrease of 1.9% or 15.2 million litres when compared with September 2022.
In the first nine months of this year, domestic milk intake was estimated at 7.2 billion litres, which is down 75.5 million litres on the same period in 2022.
Milk intake
The CSO data shows that fat content dropped marginally in the 12 months up to September, while protein content increased.
Butter production was up 6.6% from 23,700t in September 2022 to 25,300t a year later.
Skim milk powder (SMP) production was 13,000 tonnes in September 2023 in comparison with 13,200 tonnes in September 2022.
Provisional figures show that 45.9 million litres of milk were sold for human consumption in September 2023, up from 41.5 million in the same month in 2022.
Of that total, 31.1 million litres were whole milk and 14.7 million litres were skimmed and semi-skimmed milk sales.
Commenting on the release Dr. Grzegorz Glaczynski, statistician in the agriculture section of the CSO, said:
“The figures show a decrease in domestic milk intake by creameries and pasteurisers of 1.9% in September 2023 when compared with the same month in 2022.
“Domestic milk intake fell by 1% (75.5 million litres) over the nine-month period from January to September 2023, compared with the same period in 2022.
“Fat content marginally dropped to 4.55% in September 2023 from 4.56% in September 2022, while protein content increased to 3.77% from 3.75% over the same period,” he said.