The rise in fertiliser prices between February 2021 and February 2022 has been the “most significant” hike in farmers’ input costs, according to figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), with the average price paid by farmers for fertilisers up 134% over this period.
The CSO data suggests that agricultural output prices have not kept pace with rising input costs, as the 28% surge in input costs in the year from February 2021 have only translated to a 19% bump in the value of farm outputs.
Straight nitrogen fertilisers increased by 180% over the year, while compounds rose by an average of 120% in the same period.
The recently-released figures also indicate that inputs have risen by 3% just from January to February of this year
Energy and animal feed costs are also up by a third and a fifth respectively in the 12 months leading up to February of this year.
“The most significant change is in the price of fertilisers, where the price index is up 7.5% in the month from January 2022 and has increased by more than 134% in the year from February 2021,” said Anthony Dawson, statistician at the CSO.
The recently-released figures also indicate that inputs have risen by 3% just from January to February of this year.
Farm outputs
Milk prices rose 4.9% between the first and second months of this year, with the total increase on February 2021’s value coming to a 28% price rise for farmers.
Cattle prices increased by more than 18% from February 2021, with the average value of calves sold dropping, according to the figures.
The CSO’s data suggests that sheep prices increased by 7.3% in these 12 months.
The output value of cereals grew by 34%, while potato prices were upped by 22% over the year.
Vegetable prices were up only 1.4% in the same period.
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