Irish dairy farmers saw a sharp decline in the price they received for milk supplied to major processors in the year to August, according to a new report today (Thursday, October 12) from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
Over the 12 months to August 2023 the milk price slumped by 38%, according to the national statistical office which today published the Agricultural Price Indices for August.
The indices monitor trends in prices paid to farmers for their produce and in prices paid by farmers for purchases of goods and services.
The CSO report shows that the most significant output price decreases in the 12 months to August 2023 were in milk, which fell by 38% and also in cattle, which fell by 4.6%.
But the office also highlighted that famers got much better prices for some other produce over the period under review, including potatoes which rose by 37.1%, eggs which increased by 14.2%, and pig prices which also increased by 13%.
Fertiliser prices
According to the CSO there were also some “significant input price drops” over the year to August, particularly when it came to fertiliser prices and also feed prices which fell by 2.4%.
Dr. Grzegorz Glaczynski, CSO statistician in the agriculture division, said an “overall decrease was recorded in fertiliser prices” which dropped by 45% in the 12-month period under review.
Fertiliser prices had initially risen in 2021 following the lifting of global Covid-19 restrictions which saw demand return to markets, but the fallout from the the war in Ukraine pushed prices to a record high for Irish farmers in 2022.
Last August the CSO had noted that fertiliser prices had risen by 127.8% when compared with August 2021.
Overall, the Agricultural Price Indices for August 2023 show that the annual terms of trade was down by 4.8% when compared with August 2022.
In the 12 months to August 2023, the Agricultural Output Price Index was down 16.2%, while the Agricultural Input Price Index fell by 12.0% over the same period.
Meanwhile, Dr. Glaczynski said that on a monthly basis, the Agricultural Output Price Index was down by 4.5%, while the Agricultural Input Price Index fell by 0.4%, when compared with July 2023.
“The most noticeable monthly decreases in the output price sub-indices were in the price of milk which dropped by 6.0%, and cattle prices by 4.0%, compared with July 2023.
“For the monthly input price sub-indices, a decline of 2.4% was recorded in feed prices, while motor fuel prices rose by 8.3%,” he added.