The volume of Irish milk collected by creameries and pasteurisers in September 2016 fell 3.5% on the same month last year the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show.
Milk production was estimated at 583.2m litres for September 2016, down from the 604.2m litres that was sent to creameries in September last year.
It is the first time in five months that milk production has fallen year-on-year in Ireland.
The last decrease in Irish milk production was in April, when production fell 4.1% and it was the first drop in year-on-year production in 14 months.
Since the removal of quotas on March 31, 2015, Irish milk production steamed ahead, with March 2016 production up 28.3% on March 2015.
Irish milk production continued to climb post-quota, with the exception of April 2016, and volumes in the year to date are 6.2% higher on the same period last year.
Other figures from the CSO show that total milk sold for human consumption in September increased by 4.4% to 44.0m litres on September 2015.
Butter production also saw an increase, with production up 3.8% to 17,900t.
EU milk production decreases in August
Meanwhile, figures released this week by the EU’s Milk Market Observatory (MMO) show that EU milk production decreased by 1.9% in August 2016 compared to August of last year.
This latest drop in EU production is the third consecutive fall this year. In July and June, milk collections fell 1.4% and 2.3%, respectively, year-on-year.
Earlier this year, the European Commission revised end of year milk production volumes in the EU for 2016 downwards.
Provisional production figures from the Commission suggest that 2016 volumes will end 0.9% higher than in 2015.