The Irish Dairy Board’s (IDB) Production Price Index (PPI) for April was down 2% on the March return, but significantly remains 6% higher, compared to the same month last year.
However, it must be noted the the index is now trending downward with falls in February and March. The Index had been stable for the three months prior to March with the return more or less flat over the period. This follows on from a fantastic 2013 for dairy returns with the index having only fallen once since January 2013.
The IDB released its monthly PPI yesterday. The index showed a return value of 128.7, which indicates a 28.7% increase in market returns when compared to 2010.
January of last year saw the index start the year at 111, the index rose significantly over the spring and summer months peaking in September at 133.7.
The PPI is a rolling monthly indicator of market returns on primary dairy products sold by the IDB, typically butter, cheese, whole milk powder and protein products, relative to comparable returns generated in the base year of 2010.
Source: Irish Dairy Board