‘So, what’s the plan for Christmas dinner?’ I’m not sure how many times I’ve heard this question in the last week, and I’m sure readers can relate as plans are being made for that all-important festive meal.

This year, that question is more loaded though, as many of us are all too aware of how the price of food has increased in recent months.

Earlier this week, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) announced that the annual rate of inflation has gone above 3.2% in Ireland over the last 12 months, the first time we’ve exceeded the 3% threshold in two years. These figures are based on the latest flash estimate of the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP).

ADVERTISEMENT

Food prices saw an even bigger price hike, at 4.2% year-on-year, although they did stay stable in the past month. These CSO stats are telling many of us what we already know – something we’ve seen every week as we’ve pushed our shopping trolley towards the tills or paid for our meat at the butcher’s counter.

And prices have increased across the board, not just on fresh produce. On page 28, Rosalind Skillen breaks down the increases on some of our favourite festive flavours.

Expect to pay more for your mince pies this Christmas, for example. In the piece Siobhan Lawless from the Foods of Athenry details how last year, she paid double for her butter and sultanas than she did for those products four years ago.

Climate change impacts in Turkey, where the sultanas come from, are having an effect on price and she estimates there is as much as 90c of butter in a six-pack of mince pies, considerable when you consider that most retailers sell them around the €4 mark.

The outbreak of the avian flu coupled with the increased cost of feed, heating and bedding means that the 5kg turkey we bought last year for €60 is now going to cost us between €65 and €70.

Consumers not involved in farming need to be more informed on why these food prices have increased

When you understand the back story of what is going on and read between the lines of the numbers on your receipt, it doesn’t take long to realise that it’s not farmers and producers that are having a field day on the back of these increased prices – pardon the terrible pun – but then I suspect I’m speaking to the converted, given our agriculturally focused readership.

Consumers not involved in farming need to be more informed on why these food prices have increased.

This was part of the IFA’s messaging when it published its food price analysis paper. IFA chief economist Tadhg Buckley said it was important to put these prices in perspective as consumers in Ireland had little or no food inflation for over 20 years up to 2024. “Food prices actually were lower in 2021 than they were in 2001, 20 years previously. This was simply unsustainable, and it saw hundreds of producers, particularly in the vegetable and horticulture sectors, go out of business.”

The analysis also shows that the average household spend on food in Ireland in 2023 was 8.6% of overall consumer expenditure. This is the lowest across Europe, with the EU average coming in at 13%.

So families will have to budget more for the Christmas dinner, but purchasing good quality, locally produced Irish food is always money well spent.