The domestic milk intake by creameries and pasteurisers was estimated at some 732 million litres for September 2020.
This represents an increase of 1.4% on the 722 million litre figure for the same month last year, according to data released today (Thursday, October 29) by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
Looking at the year so far (January to September), the domestic milk intake stands at over 6.9 billion litres, compared to just over 6.7 billion litres for the same period in 2019.
A closer look at the figures for the month of September shows that fat and protein content were virtually unchanged compared to the same month last year.
Total milk sold for human consumption in September was 42.3 million litres, a slight decrease on the figure for September last year, which was 43.4 million litres.
Milk sold for human consumption last month was comprised of: 27.5 million litres in whole milk sales (an increase on the 26.8 million litres sold in September 2019); and 18.8 million litres in skimmed and semi-skimmed milk sales (a decrease on the 16.7 million litres sold in September 2019).
Butter production in September 2020 was 23,000t, a slight increase on the 22,300t figure for September 2019.
‘Improving trends’ for Glanbia
In other dairy-related news, Glanbia has seen an upturn in results for the third quarter of this year, as revealed in an interim management statement for the nine-month trading period ending October 3, 2020.
In the nine months ended October 3, 2020, wholly owned revenue on a reported basis increased by 1% when compared to the same period in 2019.
Excluding the impact of the 53rd week in 2019 and acquisitions, wholly owned revenues in the first nine months of 2020 were up 3.1% on a constant currency basis, the group says.