Fertiliser costs fell by 35.6% during past year- CSO

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has reported that in the past 12 months, fertiliser costs fell by 35.6% and electricity prices rose by 34.6%.

CSO data also shows that there were input price increases for plant protection products (up 13%), seed costs rose 7.1% and veterinary expenses also rose by 6.1%.

Feed prices increased by 5.7%, while straight feed was down 10.9% and compound rations were up 6.7%.

The biggest increases in feed costs were in the pig and poultry sectors, with increases of 11.5% and 11.3% respectively.

Output prices

The most notable increases in production prices between May 2022 and May 2023 were seen in cereal, which soared by 47.5%; pigs, which rose by 32.3%; and eggs, which increased by 17.6%.

Conversely, milk prices plummeted by 23.8%.

In the 12 months leading up to May 2023, the agricultural input price index decreased by 6.5%. During the same time frame, the agricultural output price index decreased by 4.7%.

Statistician in the agriculture section of the CSO Dr Grzegorz Glaczynski said: “Inspecting input prices over the last 12 months, there have been notable increases in plant protection products (+13.0%), seeds (+7.1%) and veterinary expenses (+6.1%). An overall drop was recorded in fertiliser prices of 35.6% over the same period."