Producer prices for dairy products have fallen by 28.4% in the 12 months to January 2024, latest figures by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) have shown.
In general, producer prices for food products have dropped by almost 10% over the one-year period. Meat and meat products, for example, were down by 9.8%, the CSO said.
Between January 2023 and January 2024, producer prices for vegetable and animal oils and fats fell by 5.3%, while grain milling, starches animal feeds dropped by 6.2%.
Producer prices for food products rose by 0.3% last month but dropped by 9.8% compared to January 2023. In terms of dairy products, producer prices increased by 0.6%.
The Industrial Producer Price Index refers to a family of indices that measure the average change over time in the selling prices received by domestic producers of goods and services.
CSO
Meanwhile, the CSO’s latest Labour Force Survey has shown that the number of people employed in the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector increased by around 9% within one year.
The figures show that 112,900 people were employed in the sector in quarter four (Q4) of 2023, which is up by 9,300 year-on-year. However, it is down from 114,700 employees in Q3.
Agriculture, forestry and fishing was among the economic sectors that saw the largest percentage increase year-on-year in people employed, according to the CSO.
The CSO data shows that 97,500 males aged between 15 and 89 years were employed in the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector in Q4 2023, the latest survey found.