Domestic milk intake by creameries and pasteurisers was estimated at 605 million litres in October 2023, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
This is a decrease of 87.2 million litres or 12.6% when compared with October 2022 and down 44.6 million litres or almost 7% on October 2021 levels when the intake was just over 692 million litres.
In the ten months of this year, the data shows that domestic milk intake was estimated at almost 7.9 billion litres.
The CSO said that this is a decline of 169.4 million litres or 2.1% against the corresponding period for 2022.
It is also down by 146.2 million litres or 1.8% when compared with January to October 2021.
CSO
The Milk Statistics for October 2023 published today (Tuesday, December 5) shows that fat content increased in October 2023, while the data outlines that protein content dropped.
Butter production was down marginally from 21,600t in October 2022 to 21,100t in October 2023.
Skim milk powder (SMP) production was 11,800t in October 2023, in comparison with 13,000t in the previous month.
Provisional figures show that 39.7 million litres of milk were sold for human consumption in October 2023, down from 41.6 million in the same month in 2022.
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 12.6% in October 2023 when compared with the same month in 2022.
“Domestic milk intake fell by 2.1% (169.4 million litres) over the ten-month period from January to October 2023, compared with the same period in 2022.
“Fat content increased to 4.92% in October 2023 from 4.84% in October 2022, while protein content dropped to 3.93% from 3.98% over the same period,” he added.