Domestic milk intake from creameries and pasteurisers increased by 7.4% for September 2021 compared to September 2020, based on the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
A total of 779.3 million litres were processed in September 2021, compared to 725.4 million litres in September 2020.
For the year to date, a total of 7,387 million litres have been processed by Ireland’s creameries and pasteurisers – an increase of 6.4% compared to the same period in 2020 when 6,940.6 million litres were processed.
Percentages
Looking at the average fat and protein figures for September’s supplies, we can see that the average fat content of milk supplied is 4.43%.
This has increased compared to August when the figure was 4.19%. This figure is the exact same figure for September 2020 when fat content supplied was also 4.43%.
The average protein content of milk supplied in September was 3.74%, slightly behind the 2020 figure when it was 3.78%.
It is however, an increase from August figures, when the average protein figure was 3.54%.
Domestic milk intake
There was a decrease in total milk sold for human consumption from 44.8 million litres in August to 44.3 million litres in September.
28.1 million litres were sold as whole milk, which is a decrease compared to August when 29 million litres were sold as whole milk.
Skimmed and semi-skimmed saw an increase in September, from 15.8 million litres in August to 16.2 million litres.
Butter production fell for the sixth month in a row to 26,700t, from June’s high of 31,500t.
Butter production remains ahead of September 2020 when 24,000t were sold.
Milk price tracker
Last week, the latest Milk Price Tracker – brought to you by Agriland and the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA) – was released.
The Milk Price Tracker details milk prices from the most significant Irish dairy co-ops for the month of September.