Farming input and output prices fell sharply last year, new Central Statistics Office (CSO) data reveals, amid falling energy prices and costs associated with the disruption arising from the war in Ukraine.

The CSO’s agricultural input and output price indices, which monitor trends in prices paid to farmers for their produce and in prices paid by farmers for purchases of goods and services, fell by 15.7 per cent and 16.3 per cent in the 12 months to the end of November.

Often seen as a bellwether for food price inflation, the output price index was dragged lower by falling milk prices, which declined 36.8 per cent over the 12-month period.

Due to its energy-intensive nature, milk production was one of the areas of agricultural activity most affected by the increase in electricity prices that followed the Russian invasion of Ukraine in late February 2022.

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With energy prices declining by 5.5 per cent in the month, according to the input index, milk prices softened somewhat last year but have regained momentum in recent months, rising 3.9 per cent in November alone, the CSO said.

There were also declines in the price of cereals, down 31.6 per cent in the year, and pigs, which fell 1.6 per cent.

Meanwhile, potato prices rose 63.2 per cent, largely due to drought conditions in Europe in the summer of 2022 that caused shortages as well as bad weather domestically, which delayed planting. Vegetable prices in general were also up 17.3 per cent in the year.

Looking at input prices, there was some relief for farmers from the sharp spike in fertiliser prices that followed the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a major supplier to the global market.

Fertiliser prices in the Republic fell by 47.1 per cent while feed prices also declined by 12.1 per cent with costs expected to fall further this year as energy prices soften.

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