New figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) highlight that over the 12 months to June 2023 there was a sharp decline – 43.4% – in the fertiliser price index.
The latest Agricultural Price Indices published today (Monday, August 14) by the CSO shows that the Agricultural Input Price Index fell by 10.5% in the year to June.
Not only were input price drops noted for fertilisers but there was also a 14.7% decline in “straight feeding stuffs”, a 30.7% drop in motor fuel prices and a 16.3% fall in energy prices overall.
According to the CSO the Agricultural Input Price Index for June was down by 4.3% in comparison with May.
The CSO’s Agricultural Price Indices monitor trends in prices paid to farmers for their produce and in prices paid by farmers for purchases of goods and services.
Although today’s publication details the 10.5% fall in the Agricultural Input Price Index over the year to June it also outlines where input prices rose – most prominently when it came to electricity prices which went up by 34.6% and plant protection products which also jumped by 13%.
The latest CSO figures also show that feeding stuffs for pigs also increased by 4.1% while feeding stuffs for poultry rose by 8.2% in the period under review.
The latest figures also show that the Agricultural Output Price Index was down 9.2% in the 12 months to June 2023.
On a monthly basis, the Agricultural Output Price Index for June decreased by 2.4% when compared with May 2023.
Dr. Grzegorz Glaczynski, statistician in the CSO agriculture division, said today: “The most noticeable monthly changes in the output price sub-indices were recorded in the price of cattle which dropped by 3.9%, while the milk price declined by 3.7%.
“Analysing output prices in the 12 months since June 2022, significant growth has been observed in cereal prices (47.5%) and pigs (22.7%), while milk prices decreased by 28.3%.”
According to the CSO when June 2023 results are compared with June 2022, egg prices also saw significant output price increases of 16.8%.