Milk production in Ireland fell 4.1% in April when compared to the same month last year, the first fall year on year since March 2015.
Domestic milk intake by creameries and pasteurisers was estimated at 752.1m litres for April 2016.
The fall comes on the back of exceptionally cold month in April which hit grass growth and milk production on most dairy farms.
Also of note, is that April 2015 was the first month post-quota removal and on many farms milk was held in bulk tanks in order to avoid superlevy bills this contributed to exceptionally strong April production 12 months ago.
Comparing the April 2016 milk produce figures with those for April 2015 shows that total milk sold for human consumption increased by 9.7% to 43.5 million litres while butter production was up 8.6% to 22,000 tonnes.
Domestic milk intake by creameries and pasteurisers remained relatively stable in the 5 quota years preceding the end of the quota regime. In the 12 month period after the end of the regime (April 2015-March 2016) domestic milk intake increased by 18.5%.
Total EU milk intake by creameries and pasteurisers in the 12 month period after the end of the quota regime was almost 150,000 million litres. This represents a 4.5% increase when compared with the 12 month period immediately preceding the end of the regime.
The 10 EU Member States with the largest milk intake accounted for almost 86% of total EU milk intake. Ireland had the largest percentage increase in milk intake (18.5%) whereas Italy’s milk intake decreased by 2.2%.
UK production
Both the average UK farmgate milk price and milk production for April 2016 fell compared to the corresponding month last year, the latest figures from DEFRA show.
For April, the UK average farmgate milk price was 21.59p/L (28.33c/L), which DEFRA has said represents a 3.4% (0.77p/L or a 1.01c/L in euro terms) decrease on March 2016.
This latest milk price drop continues the downward trend seen since November 2013.
UK milk production for April decreased 0.8% on the previous month (March) to 1249m litres, which is a 3.4% decrease on the same period last year, according to the DEFRA figures.