Domestic milk intake by creameries and pasteurisers in Ireland declined by nine million litres between January and February of this year, new figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) have shown.
The data released today (Tuesday, April 4), shows that processors took in approximately 361.3 million litres in February, which represents a decline of 1.7% on the same month in 2022, when 367.5 litres were supplied.
The CSO figures also show that total milk sold for human consumption in the second month of this year is also down on the same timeframe in 2022; 37.9 million litres went to this market in 2022, but this fell to 36.7 million litres this year.
In a components breakdown, fat content of this milk rose to 4.46% in February this year, up 4.44% on February 2022. The protein content also increased from 3.42% to 3.50% over the same period.
The increase in fat content may be traced back to feed consumption, with many cows out on grass in February.
Milk commodities
Domestic butter production decreased by 6% in February, down to 10,900t from 11,600t in February 2023.
Despite the decrease, this figure is still slightly up on the amount produced in 2021, when 10,700t of butter were made.
Figures for the amount of skimmed milk powder and cheese are not yet available for February, however in January this year, production of milk powder increased to 5,800t from 5,200t in January 2022.
EU milk intake
Figures on EU milk intake are also available on the Cronos Database, which show that Germany took in 2.7 million tonnes in January 2023, the most of any EU country.
The country’s milk intake was also up on the same period in 2022, when it consumed 2.6 million tonnes.
France followed Germany with the second-highest intake of two million tonnes in January this year, just ahead of Poland, which took in 1.1 million tonnes.
Malta consumed the lowest amount of milk in January at just 3,000t, followed by Cyprus and Croatia at 23,000t and 34,000t respectively.