Domestic milk intake by milk processors and co-ops jumped by an estimated 34.9 million litres in October to 708.0 million litres, according to the Central Statistics Office today (Friday, December 5).

Last year, domestic milk intake by milk processors and co-ops in the month of October totalled 673.1 million litres.

However fat content for October 2025 was 4.87%, down from 4.93% in October 2024.

Protein content also dropped from 4.04% to 4.00% in the 12 months to October 2025.

The CSO carries out a monthly survey of milk processors and co-ops in Ireland to gather data on monthly collection and use of cow’s milk by the dairy sector.

According to the CSO, in the first 10 months of the year, domestic milk intake grew to 8.08 billion litres - an increase of 432.9 million litres, or 5.7% - when compared with the same period in 2024 and up 210.0 million litres - 2.7% - when compared with 2023.

CSO

One key trend identified by the CSO is that butter production dropped from 24,300t in October 2024 to 19,300t in October 2025, which represented a decline of 5,000t.

The latest analysis by the statistics office also highlights that there has been a slight increase in the total milk "sold for human consumption" in 2025.

According to statistics for October 2023, the total milk "sold for human consumption" was 39.7 million litres while last year the total was 39.8 million litres.

This year, however, it is estimated that the figure will be 41 million litres.

According to the CSO, it would appear that skimmed and semi-skimmed milk is less popular with consumers - with 18.3 million litres sold for human consumption in October - compared to 22.6 million litres of whole milk.