The agricultural input price index is up by 39.1% in the year from July 2021, while the output price index is up by 28.4%, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
Changes in price indices as published today (Tuesday, September 13), have resulted in a 7.7% decline in annual trade, the CSO said.
Agricultural price indices for July 2022 show that the price index for feeding stuffs increased by 2.2% within one month, and by 34.2% in the 12 months from July last year.
The input price index for fertiliser is up by 133.8%, and energy prices are 51.3% higher than 12 months ago, according to CSO figures.
Increases can also be seen in the output price sub-indices where the price of milk rose by 51.1% in the year, and cattle prices increased by 16.0% annually, the CSO said.
While the input price index is unchanged in the month from June to July 2022, the monthly agricultural output price index is down 1.6%, according to CSO statistician, Anthony Dawson.
“Monthly output sub-indices show a decrease in cattle prices (- 6.9%) but an increase in milk prices (+ 3.7%), while the monthly input sub-indices saw a growth in feed prices (+ 2.2%) but a reduction in the price of fertilisers (-2.7%) and energy (- 2.8%), he said.
Tractor figures
Meanwhile, the CSO recently published figures which show that 3,496 tractors have been licensed for the first time so far this year.
From January to the end of August this year, 1,651 used (imported) tractors were licensed – down from 2,501 in the first eight months of 2021.
In comparison, a total number of 1,845 new tractors have been licensed so far this year, which is down from 1,918 at this stage last year.