The volume of milk produced in Ireland last year as well as the price to farmers fell significantly, according to the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office.
Milk prices to farmers were down 26% in 2023 compared with 2022 and the volume of milk produced fell by 4%. This resulted in a 30% drop overall in the value of milk output.
In volume terms, cereal output in Ireland fell drastically by 26%, the CSO said.
This was due to extremely bad weather during last year’s harvest, which led to some crops spoiling in fields, and also due to pressure on land availability for arable farming.
The total area planted fell by 6%, in a year which saw intense competition from dairy farmers to rent land which had previously been planted.
The combination of price falls and contraction of the planted area resulted in overall output dropping 48% to €362m.
Prices paid to arable farmers were down 33%.
Meanwhile, the value of all livestock was up by 1% to €4.6 billion last year.
Within that sector, cattle prices rose 3% but volumes fell 4% with overall output value down 1% to €3 billion.
Sheep output value was stable, while pig prices rose by 19% but volume was down resulting in the sector’s overall value rising just 7% to €667m.
Poultry prices also rose 5% last year as did volume output meaning the overall value of the sector was up 8% to €220m.
‘Margins are eroding on farms’ – IFA
Irish Farmers’ Association President Francie Gorman said the latest CSO figures for agriculture in 2023 highlight the price volatility that Irish farmers are exposed to in the current market.
“Latest CSO figures only further highlight the pressures that farmers are facing at farmgate,” he said.
“There is a price squeeze still taking place and margins are eroding on farms.”
The IFA said the latest figures released by the CSO show that the value of agricultural output at basic prices fell by 13% or €1.7bn to €11.2bn in 2023, with the agricultural operating surplus declining by 36% to €3bn in 2023.
Mr Gorman said spiralling input costs, caused primarily by the Ukraine war, is still having a big impact.
“What these CSO figures show is that others in the food chain have to recognise the pressures on farmers,” he said.
“They cannot expect quality food to arrive on supermarket shelves at a loss to the primary producer.”
The IFA President said part of the frustration for farmers is that the cost of regulation is adding to the overall burden on farmers.
The CSO figures also found that operating surplus on Irish farms fell 36% to €3 billion.
President of the ICSMA Denis Drennan said today’s CSO figures should make Department officials and rural TDS sit up and focus.
“Can you imagine the outcry if say, the value of the Irish pharma of tech sector collapsed by 36% in two years? The dashboard lights are turning red and blinking fast. It’s just a question of time now of whether the Government wants to see them, or whether we wait for the engine of rural Ireland to be damaged beyond repair.”
