Domestic milk intake from January to November 2025 was up 5% on the same period in 2024, new figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show.

Domestic milk intake by milk processors and co-ops was estimated at 500.4 million litres in November 2025.

This was a decrease of 11.9 million litres (2.3%) when compared with November 2024 and up 118.7 million litres (31.1%) when compared with the same month in 2023.

Stephanie Kelleher, statistician in the agriculture section of the CSO, said that for the period January to November 2025, domestic milk intake was estimated at 8.58 billion litres.

This was a rise of 419.1 million litres (5.1%) when compared with the same period in 2024 and up 326.7 million litres (4%) when compared with 2023.

Fat content for November 2025 was 5.12%, up from 4.99% in November 2024.

Protein content also increased from 3.98% to 4.03% in the 12 months to November 2025.

Butter production increased slightly from 17,800 tonnes in November 2024 to 18,000 tonnes in November 2025, up 200 tonnes.

Skimmed milk powder production rose from 7,500 tonnes in November 2024 to 9,500 tonnes in November 2025, up 2,000 tonnes.

Challenging 2026

The CEO of Ornua has warned of a challenging 2026 and outlined the risks associated with following commodity prices.

Conor Galvin was speaking at the launch of Bord Bia’s Export Performance and Prospects Report 2025-2026 this week.

“Milk volumes were strong all the way through 2025,” he said.

“Unfortunately…other regions had the same dynamic in terms of volumes produced. So what we saw was volumes up in 2025 [in many regions].

“What that has led to in the second half of the year is a significant correction price. So a lot of the value of 2025 is supported by butter and cheese, and that’s good news because those are products we can differentiate ourselves with when we’re exporting.”

The Ornua chief said that 2025 was a good year both for volume and the value in return.