Cattle prices have risen by 18.8% in a 12-month period according to latest research from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
New agricultural price indices published today (Thursday, April 13) by the CSO also show there have been significant output price increases for cereal, which rose by 47.5% and eggs, which jumped by 28.5% over the 12 months to February 2023.
The indices monitor trends in prices paid to farmers for their produce and in prices paid by farmers for purchases of goods and services.
The latest CSO’s Agricultural Price Indices highlight that there has been no let up in the cost pressures that farmers continue to battle against.
In the 12 months to February 2023, the CSO detailed how feeding prices soared by 25.1%, energy prices rose by 18.1%, while fertiliser prices also jumped by 15.4%.
According to the CSO, the Agricultural Input Price Index was up 16.4% in the 12 months to February 2023 while the Agricultural Output Price Index rose by 16.3% over the same period.
The latest output price index pinpoints which sectors are under particular strain such as the sheep sector, which saw a year-on-year drop of 8.9% in output prices and output prices for wool also fell back by 0.5%.
Donal Kelly, senior statistician with the CSO, said today’s release also details the agricultural price indices for February 2023.
“On a monthly basis the Agricultural Output Price index has fallen by 3.9% while the Agricultural Input Price index was down by 0.8%, compared with January 2023,” Kelly said.
Kelly said the most significant monthly changes were in the price of milk, which fell by 10%, and cattle prices, which rose by 2.2%.
“The monthly Input Price sub-indices show a drop of 3.9% in fertiliser prices,” he added.
The latest input price index also underlines the major jump in costs for farmers between February 2022 and February 2023; from seeds, which increased by 13.6% to electricity, which soared by 62.7% to compound fertilisers, which rose by 17.8%.
But the latest indices published by the CSO also show a hike in veterinary expenses of 6.1%.
One of the biggest annual increases in input prices for farmers was in relation to feeding stuffs.
According to the CSO figures, poultry farmers experienced one of the biggest annual changes in feed costs.